Q. During an argument on the telephone a man said to his wife, “as from today, there is no relation between you and me.” He did not utter the word that means divorce. The next day, the couple made it up and resumed their relation. He says that he did not mean his words as permanent separation. Does his statement mean divorce? If so, how many times?
Z. Haque, Jeddah
A. The Prophet makes it clear that every action is attached to the intention accompanying it. Some actions may appear fine, but the intention behind them is not. Therefore, they are not counted as reward-earning actions. For example, a person may declare that he is donating a large sum of money for a benevolent project.
This is something that should earn him generous reward by God, although it is publicly announced. A charitable donation, or sadaqah, is best kept private, but if it is made public, it is good and earns reward. However, if the man in this case makes his declaration in order to gain a reputation of generosity or to be able to achieve some other worldly gain, then his action is not counted as sadaqah, and his reward is no more than the reputation or the gain that he desired.
In this case, we need to ask the man about his intention when he said to his wife that there was no longer any relation between them. Was this meant as a sort of boycott, or a threat that they will not be on speaking terms, or that their marriage is over and they will go their separate ways? If the last, then this is a case of divorce. If any of the other, then it is merely a threat of punishment.
I am told that the man in this case did not intend his words to mean permanent separation. Since the reader did not mention to me what the intention was, I cannot give a definitive answer. Therefore, we can think of possibilities. It may be that the man simply wanted his wife to know that he would not be speaking to her for some time, until things clear up between them and they will then either divorce or make up. If so, then no divorce has taken place and the fact that they made it up the following day means that their marriage continues without blemish.
The other possibility is that the man intended his words as divorce, and in this case a single divorce takes place. This means that the woman was divorced and the marriage was re-instated the following day. Provided that the man had not divorced his wife twice before, this is perfectly acceptable. However, the couple should be wary what to do in future, because divorce should never come as a result of an argument. It is a way out of a strained relationship that does not seem to work. Therefore, divorce has a process of several steps. It should never be uttered in the course of a heated argument.
There is a third possibility that could apply in this case. This is when a man decides not to have sex with his wife in future, thus ending the marital relationship between them. This is obviously unfair to the woman, because a primary objective of marriage is to satisfy the sexual desire of both man and wife in a legitimate way. Therefore, Islam does not allow this to continue indefinitely. It sets a maximum term of four months for it. The man should then either divorce his wife or resume full marital relationship with her. This situation is known in Islamic terminology as Ila’, and it is normally stated with an oath. In other words, the man swears by God that he would not touch his wife. Therefore, if he decides to keep his wife within or at the end of the four-month period, he needs to atone for his broken oath in the normal way, feeding ten poor people, or giving them clothes. If he cannot afford either, he fasts for three days. In a case where no oath was made, but a decision not to touch his wife was made, scholars differ as to whether this is a case of Ila’ or not. The view that it is such a case is perhaps more valid.
Friday Sermon and Sunnah Prayer
Q.1. You said in an earlier answer that according to a Hadith, Imam Malik does not approve of offering Sunnah prayer if a person arrives in the mosque for Friday prayer when the imam is delivering his sermon. Please provide us with the Hadith in support of this view.
Q.2. If a woman terminates her pregnancy for no reason other than that she does not want the child, how is her action treated? Could it be classified in the same way as murder? What punishment does Islam prescribe for deliberate abortion with no medical reasons?
Shahabuddin, Dammam
A.1. People are often confused about this issue when it is simple and clear. The Hadith in question is not reported by Imam Malik only. It is indeed an authentic Hadith which Imam Malik interprets in a way that differs with the views of other Imams. The Hadith is reported by Jabir and says: “A man came into the mosque on Friday when the Prophet was delivering his sermon. He asked the man: ‘Have you prayed?’ The man answered in the negative. The Prophet said to him: ‘Then offer two rak’ahs.’” (Related in all six anthologies).
It is clear from this Hadith that if a person comes into the mosque when the imam has started delivering the khutbah or sermon, he should offer two short rak’ahs of voluntary prayer before he sits down. Once he sits down, he should not stand up for prayer during the khutbah. However, Imam Malik looks at the Hadith in a different way, taking into view the full circumstances of the case of the man. He feels that the Prophet wanted to draw attention to the fact that the newcomer was poor and deserved charitable assistance. By instructing him to stand up and pray when the rest of the congregation were seated, the Prophet thought that people would recognize from the man’s appearance that he was poor. This is a valid understanding. Therefore, whether we take Imam Malik’s view or the opposite one, we have solid grounds.
A.2. Abortion is forbidden in Islam, except for medical reasons. Scholars maintain that abortion is permissible if the continued pregnancy represents a serious risk for the mother. They say that the real life, which is the mother’s, has more importance than the potential life of the embryo. However, scholars differ on whether abortion is permissible in the early stages of pregnancy. The old view is that it is permissible up to four months into the pregnancy. Contemporary scholars, on the other hand, take into view the results of medical advancement that has been made in recent years showing that the embryo reflects potential life right from the early days of conception. They have revisited the relevant evidence and given a ruling prohibiting abortion from the very first week of pregnancy.