Do The Following Words Count As Divorce?

[ummtaalib]

  Question
 

I told my wife: "I divorce
you." I just told her once. Does it count as a divorce? Also is there a 3
month waiting period for man too or is it just for woman?

 

Answer
 

In
the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

As-salāmu
‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

 

Divorce is of two
types. Divorce may either be Sareeh or Kinayah.

 

A Sareeh divorce is
one in which clear words of divorce are used.

 

Kinayah divorce is
where the intention of divorce is expressed using ambiguous words.

 

A divorce that was
issued with clear words maybe revocable. However, a divorce that was issued
with ambiguous words may not be retracted without having to re-perform a nikah.

 

To say “I divorce
you” are clear words of divorce and falls under the category of Sareeh Divorce.
To issue a divorce once using clear words is sufficient for divorce. If it was
said once or twice, the husband can revoke the divorce before the expiry of the
three months period (iddat). This could be by saying “I take you back as my
wife” or to be physically intimate with your wife etc.

 

There is no waiting
period of iddat for a man. Iddat of divorce or death is only for women.

 

And
Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
 

Mawlana Saeed Ahmed Golaub
 

Westmoreland, Jamaica, West Indies

 

Student Darul Iftaa
 

Checked and Approved by
 

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
 

daruliftaa.net
 

http://askimam.org/public/question_detail/21148