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Fatwa CenterRuling on giving wife authority to divorce herself
Question
My friend 33 (M) had been married for three and half years now but could have no good terms with wife. She went to her mother's and from there sent a divorce letter with clearly written ‘1, 2, and 3 counts of divorce is hereby given by me to my husband’. The marriage registrar registered the divorce, and a copy was sent to the husband by post. It is to be mentioned that during marriage, the wife was given the right to divorce in the contract. It has been 50 days since the divorce. Is the divorce a valid divorce in the eye of Islam? The wife after 50 days of signing the divorce paper call the husband and expresses her sadness for giving divorce and wishes to reunite; can it be permissible? According to shariah is he supposed to pay her the remaining dowry money due at the time of marriage? Does the husband need to do anything if he wishes to marry another lady? Thanks
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
If you mean that that wife had made this a condition in the marriage contract, then the condition of the wife in the marriage contract that the divorce should be in her hands is an invalid condition according to most jurists, as this condition contradicts the purpose of the contract.
So, this condition is invalid but the contract itself is valid according to the Maaliki school of jurisprudence if the marriage has been consummated, and according to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence it is valid if it is the husband who spoke first and gave her authority to divorce herself. According to the Fatwa of the Permanent Committee of Iftaa’ in Saudi Arabia, the condition is invalid but the contract is valid.
Therefore, this wife does not have the right of divorce, and so the divorce that she gave is void and does not count. Hence, the bond of marriage between her and her husband is still ongoing.
However, since the issue may be a controversial one - as the Hanafi school is of the view that some forms of putting the matter of divorce in the hands of the wife are valid and gives her the right to do so - then it is an obligation to take the matter to the court in the country of the spouses in order to settle the matter and avoid disputes.
In general, our advice for any married couple is that they should live with each other in kindness, and each one should fulfil the rights of the other so that they have a stable marriage and the whole family lives in happiness. For more benefit on the rights of spouses towards each other, please refer to Fatwa 85308.
Finally, it should be noted that if the divorce was effective, the wife would be entitled to her rights over her husband, among which is her whole dowry if the divorce took effect after the consummation of the marriage, and half of the dowry if the marriage had not yet been consummated. For more benefit on the rights of a divorcee, please refer to Fataawa 83934 and 86603.
Allaah Knows best.
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