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:

Dear Sir,

Thank you for replying promptly. In this case, it seems that her court marriage was valid in Islam but stil my one question left unanswered. Her parents forced her to get divorce and got her married to a boy of their choice within a week's time.

Now, is the second marriage valid and acceptable in Islam ? (though the bride and groom did not stay together nor they had any physical relation but the bride did not complete the separation period i.e. IDDAH or IDDAT after the forceful divorce).

Please advise....

Thank you very much...

(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:

Marry before iddah divorce

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.

Firstly, regardless of whether one chose to divorce oneself of one’s own free will, or one was forced to choose divorce by their parents or their loved ones, if the divorce has been declared…..a divorce will be established in that marriage.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 228:

228 Divorced women shall wait concerning themselves for three monthly periods; nor is it lawful for them to hide what Allah hath created in their wombs, if they have faith in Allah and the Last Day.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 49:

49 O ye who believe! When ye marry believing women and then divorce them before ye have touched them no period of ‘Iddah’ have ye to count in respect of them: so give them a present and set them free in a handsome manner.

If the divorce was declared before the couple could live together as husband and wife, or before the couple had a chance to consummate their marriage, or before the couple met alone in private and had a chance to consummate their marriage, etc….then in such a situation where a divorce is declared before the couple had a chance to consummate their marriage, there is no ‘iddah’ or waiting period which the wife has to fulfill…..in such a situation the divorced wife is eligible and free to marry another person of her choice whenever she wills and pleases, even if it be the very next moment after her divorce.

But if the couple had a chance to consummate their marriage, or they met in private, etc…..then indeed it would be obligatory for the divorced wife to fulfill her prescribed waiting period or ‘iddah’ which would be her three menstrual periods. If the wife upon whom the ‘iddah’ is obligatory performs a ‘nikaah’ with another person without fulfilling her waiting period, that new ‘nikaah’ will be deemed absolutely null and void in the Sight of Shariah Law and in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Thus the determining factor is whether the couple had a chance to consummate their marriage or not before the declaration of the divorce….if the divorce was established before the couple had a chance to consummate their marriage, the divorced wife does not have to fulfill the ‘iddah’ period and she is free to marry another person of her choice whenever she wills and pleases…even if it be the very next moment after her divorce is established. Because the ‘iddah’ is not required for such a divorced woman, her new ‘nikaah’ would be absolutely legal and valid in the Sight of Shariah Law and in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

But if the couple had a chance to consummate their marriage before the divorce was declared, it would be obligatory upon the divorced wife in Shariah to fulfill the waiting period of ‘iddah’. If the wife upon whom the ‘iddah’ is obligatory performs a new ‘nikaah’ with another person without honoring the waiting period of ‘iddah’….the new ‘nikaah’ will be null and void in the Sight of Shariah Law and in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

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