Divorce By Text Message

[ummtaalib]

  Question

 

I'm a new muslim. I got married 6 months ago.. My husband told
me by text message I DIVORCE YOU 3 times I don't speak arabic, I don't what he
means after he said that. He never told me front of me after that day we were
living in the same house like normal marriage. he was so angry at the moment
the text me . We are divorce?
 

Answer

 

In the name
of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

 

It is
unclear from your query whether your husband sent you a text message saying “I
divorce you three times” or whether he sent you three text messages, each
message saying “I divorce you”. The ruling may be different in both cases.
Hereunder are the rulings for both cases:

 

1) If your
husband sent you a text message saying “I divorce you three times”, then three
talaaqs (divorces) have taken place whether he intended talaaq (divorce) or
not. You are no longer husband and wife. Your iddah (waiting period) started
the moment he wrote the text message. You cannot marry anyone before the expiry
of your waiting period. The waiting period is three menstruations if not
pregnant or birth of the child if pregnant. You cannot marry him again unless
you marry someone else, consummate the marriage and happen to get divorced
again.

 

الكتابة
على نوعين : مرسومة وغير مرسومة ، ونعني بالمرسومة أن يكون مصدرا ومعنونا مثل ما
يكتب إلى الغائب ... ( وبعد أسطر ) ... وإن كانت مرسومة يقع الطلاق نوى أو لم ينو
ثم المرسومة لا تخلو إما أن أرسل الطلاق بأن كتب : أما بعد فأنت طالق ، فكما كتب
هذا يقع الطلاق وتلزمها العدة من وقت الكتابة إلخ ( رد المحتار: ج 4 ص 442 ط دار المعرفة )

 

2) If your
husband sent you three text messages and in each text message he said “I
divorce you”, then in this case also three talaaqs (divorces) have taken place
and the same rulings as above will apply.

 

If,
however, by sending the second and third text messages, the intention of your
husband was merely to emphasize the talaaq (divorce), then in this case one
revocable divorce (talaaq raj’i) has taken place. In a revocable divorce, the
husband may take his wife back during her iddah (waiting period) by saying “I
am taking you back into my nikah (marriage)” or “I am going to maintain you as
my wife and I will not let you go.” or by kissing or fondling her, etc. If your
waiting period has expired and both of you wish to get back together, then you
may do your nikah again.

 

( فتاوى دار العلوم ديوبند: ج 9
150 ط دار الإشاعت )

 

( بهشتي زيور: ج 1 ص 463 )

 

في
الدر المختار: كرر لفظ الطلاق وقع الكل ، وإن نوى التأكيد دين ؛ وفي حاشية ابن
عابدين: ( قوله كرر لفظ الطلاق ) بأن قال للمدخولة : أنت طالق أنت طالق أو قد
طلقتك قد طلقتك أو أنت طالق قد طلقتك أو أنت طالق وأنت طالق إلخ ( قوله وإن نوى
التأكيد دين ) أي ووقع الكل قضاء ( رد المحتار: ج 4 ص 510 ط دار المعرفة )

Please note
that the rulings mentioned above will not change because of the fact that your
husband was angry when he sent you the text message/s; and neither will the
rulings change because of you not having understood what he meant by the text
message/s.

 

And Allah
Ta'ala Knows Best

 

Wassalaamu
`alaykum
 

Ml. Faizal Riza

 

Correspondence
Iftaa Student, Australia

 

Checked and
Approved by:

 

Mufti Ebrahim
Desai

Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah

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