Since my husband is refusing to divorce me and I forsee that I will have to apply for a khulla would I have to pay HIM the amount of mehr?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Asslaam Alay Kum!
I have read in a couple of your answers regarding khulla that the wife has to
pay back the mehr to her husband that he paid her at the time of nikkah.
I am
confused, you have used the phrase "was paid by her husband at the time of
nikkah" in my case my husband did not "pay" the mehr it was only
stipulated in the nikkah nama that in case my husband gives me a divorce I am
entitled to so and so amount as my mehr.There was no actual exchange of money
NOR did I say that I excuse my husband from the condition of mehr.
Since
my husband is refusing to divorce me and I forsee that I will have to apply for
a khulla would I have to pay HIM the amount of mehr? I am giving
back all the gifts that I have received from him during,after and before our
marriage.
Please
reply as soon as possible.
Jazak
Allah Khair
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Return mehr in Khula
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Your
Question: ….I have read in a couple of your answers regarding khulla that the
wife has to pay back the mehr to her husband that he paid her at the time of
nikkah.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 229:
229 A divorce is only permissible twice: after that the parties should
either hold together on equitable terms or separate with kindness. It is not lawful for you (men) to take back
any of your gifts (from your wives) except when both parties fear that they
would be unable to keep the limits ordained by Allah. If ye (judges) do indeed fear that they would
be unable to keep the limits ordained by Allah there is no blame on either of
them if she give something for her freedom. These are the limits
ordained by Allah; so do not transgress them.
If any do transgress the limits ordained by Allah such persons wrong
(themselves as well as others).
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.197 Narrated by Ibn Abbas
The wife of Thabit bin Qais came to the
Prophet (saws) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (saws)! I do not blame
Thabit for defects in his character or his religion, but I, being a Muslim,
dislike to behave in un-Islamic manner (if I remain with him)." On that Allah's
Messenger (saws) said (to her), "Will you give back the garden which your
husband has given you (as Mehr)?" She said, "Yes." Then the
Prophet (saws) said to Thabit, "O Thabit! Accept your garden, and divorce
her once."
Your
Statements:……in my case my husband did not "pay" the mehr it was only
stipulated in the nikkah nama that in case my husband gives me a divorce I am
entitled to so and so amount as my mehr.There was no actual exchange of money
NOR did I say that I excuse my husband from the condition of mehr.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah
Nisaa verse 4:
4 And give the women (on marriage) their dower (mehr) as a free gift;
but if they (the wife) of their own good pleasure remit any part of it to you,
take it and enjoy it with right good cheer.
Islam has enjoined and made the giving (or at least the
determination) of the ‘mehr’ to the bride at the time of her marriage as an
absolutely obligatory condition of a marriage. Contrary to the popular practice and belief
that a husband only needs to pay the determined ‘mehr’ to his wife if he
divorces her, Shariah Law dictates and demands that the ‘mehr’ is the right of
the wife which her husband has to pay her, absolutely regardless of whether he
ever divorces her or not.
Whatever ‘mehr’ was determined at the time of your
marriage, you are well within your rights to claim and demand it….and if your
husband does not fulfill this obligation of his unto you, he will be held
severely accountable for his debt unto you in the Presence of the Lord Most
Majestic on that Tumultuous Day of Judgment.
Unless and until your husband pays the ‘mehr’ to you in
absolute full, or you, of your own free will and choice and without any force
or coercion whatsoever choose to forgive all or a part of the determined
‘mehr’, that amount will remain a debt upon your husband until he fulfills it.
Your
Question: Since my husband is refusing to divorce me and I forsee that I will
have to apply for a khulla would I have to pay HIM the amount of mehr?
If the wife chooses to free herself from her marriage and
initiates a divorce proceeding against her husband in a Shariah Court of Law,
the husband is indeed entitled to lawfully claim back the ‘mehr’ he had paid
her at the time of marriage. In your
particular case, because your husband has not paid you the ‘mehr’ to date, you
obviously would not have to return the ‘mehr’ which was never paid in the first
place!!!
If the Judge of the Shariah Court were to accept your
request for divorce, he would demand that you cancel the ‘mehr’ debt which your
husband lawfully owes you, and either ask the husband to pronounce a divorce
upon you….or if for any reason the husband refuses to pronounce the divorce,,
the Judge of the Shariah Court is well within his rights to pronounce a divorce
in your marriage and grant you the freedom you desire.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan