Munir M Hasan, PhD
I have come across many people who ask about the religious validity of Halala. Halala is considered a process in which a divorced woman, if she wants to remarry the same husband, she first has to marry another man, and only after getting divorce from the second husband, she is allowed to remarry her first husband. This is understood on the basis of a verse of the holy Qur’an which, to me, is totally misinterpreted.
The verse says: ُSo, if he (a husband) (finally) divorces her (his wife), it is not lawful for him to remarry her until after she has married another man. And if he also divorces her, then there is no blame on either of them if they reunite (in marriage), provided they think that they can keep the limits of Allah. In my opinion, many of those who call themselves “Ulama”. meaning religiously knowledgeable persons, and also those interpreters of Qur’an who support the idea of Halala, interpret this verse wrongly and advise a divorced woman to marry a man first other than her previous husband, for a short period – even for a day – and after getting divorce from him, remarry her first husband. This interpretation has given rise to a type of marriage which can be called a “temporary marriage” or “short term contract marriage”.
As I understand this verse, there is no concept of short-term or temporary marriage in Islam. This verse is totally misunderstood and misinterpreted by these people making a mockery of this verse. It is so because they have been interpreting this verse in isolation neglecting many other verses of the holy Qur’an where the purpose of marriage is defined. They have completely neglected these verses. So, with their faulty knowledge, not only they have been distorting the message of Allah, but also promoting adultery in the name of Shari’a (Islamic Law). This interpretation and practice is a clear contempt, humiliation, insult and below the dignity of the class of women which, by itself, is a sin.
Before I give the reference of some Qur’anic verses, let us first see how the marriage is understood in various major religions of the world. Marriage is considered a permanent and life-time contract between a man and a woman not only in Islam, but also in other religions as well. For example, in Christianity, on the occasion of marriage, the couple is asked to pronounce the words: “I, ____, take you, ____, to be my wife (or husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, . . . . . “ Jews also consider marriage as a life-time contract which can be broken only in some extraordinary circumstances.
The Talmud reflects the tragedy of a failed marriage when it says, “Even God sheds tears when a couple divorces.” In an obsolete funeral custom in some Hindu sects, the wife of a deceased husband used to end her life in a tradition called “Sati”, where a widow used to immolate herself on her husband’s pyre, or commit suicide in another fashion shortly after her husband’s death. And in Islam, divorce has been defined as the worst possible action in all the actions which are permitted. So, the marriage means a life-time binding, and one-day marriage is not a marriage. It is a kind of adultery. Some verses of the holy Qur’an are quoted here to show the relationship of husband and wife as the lifetime partners.
And of His signs, another one is that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may find comfort with them, and He planted love and kindness in your hearts. Surely, there are signs in this for those who think about it. My comment: Allah creates Love and kindness not for one night. He creates for all times to live together. ِAnd they pray: “Our Rabb! Make our wives and our children to be the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders of the righteous.” My comment: The purpose of marriage is to have children who become comfort for the eyes of the couple. It is Allah who has made for you mates from your own species, and He gives you through your wives sons and grandsons; The purpose of marriage is to have children and grandchildren, a lifelong process.
You shall inherit one half of your wives’ estate if they leave no child. And if they leave behind a child, then you will get one fourth of their estate after fulfilling the terms of their will and the payment of debts. Your wives shall inherit one fourth if you leave no child behind you. But if you leave a child, then they shall get one-eighth of your estate after fulfilling the terms of your will and the payment of debts; These orders of Allah apply when a married couple may or may not have children, and one of them dies before the other – a life-long process. ِ
This verse is in continuation of the previous verse where a number of relations are mentioned whom men are forbidden to marry.) Also forbidden for you are married women, except those who have fallen in your hands (as prisoners of war). This is the order of Allah (relating to marriage prohibitions). All women other than these are lawful provided you seek them in marriage with gifts from your property, desiring chastity and not lust.
If any of you cannot afford to marry a free believing woman, let him marry one of slave girls who is a believer; Allah knows how good you are in your faith. You all belong to one and the same community. Marry them with the permission of their family and give them their Meher (an amount in Muslim tradition which the man gives to his wife soon after the marriage, or later) so that they may live a decent life (in wedlock) desiring chastity, not lust, and do not look for secret illicit relationships. In these verses Allah has made quite clear that the main purpose of marriage is to desire Chastity (to form a family), not lust. This order of Allah applies to both free women, and also to slave women if married to a man other than her master.
In addition to describing the purpose of marriage – to form a family to live together for life, and take comfort from your children and grandchildren – Allah also tells us that, after marriage, divorce is not a child’s play, and has given instructions how to tackle the situation if living together due some reasons becomes difficult, Allah has not forced the couple to make lives like hell and ruin their lives and the lives of their children, and so, the divorce has been allowed with certain conditions. Considering that, this divorce could be the result of some spontaneous reaction on an argument between husband and wife, rage or misunderstanding, in which case the couple later will repent this divorce, so Allah has put some conditions before the final divorce takes place.
These restrictions are given in two ways. Separation cannot be done just by uttering the words of divorce, but Allah has given quite reasonable time to think and rethink over it before taking this action. Some stages are defined to keep them united and avoid divorce. Pronouncement of divorce is twice when she should be allowed to stay with honor or let go with kindness; This verse clearly says that pronouncement of divorce three times (or even more than three times for that matter) on one occasion is against the orders of Allah. Even if somebody does it, it will be considered as the first divorce.
In fact, Allah has given two opportunities to a man to keep the marriage intact. On the pronouncement of first divorce, the man is not allowed to separate his wife. He has to keep his wife with him for a period of Iddat which is four months and ten days, to give a chance to reconciliation. During this period either the man can keep the wife with honour, or continue further with the process of divorce. On the second pronouncement of divorce, he has to follow the same process as for the first divorce – to keep the wife with honour for a period of Iddat, or continue further with the process of divorce.
If even after the second divorce the man chooses to keep the wife, then there is no divorce at all. If the trouble continues and the man pronounces the words of divorce for the third time, then that is the divorce finally and the process of divorce is complete. During the period of first and second pronunciation of divorce, as mentioned above, Allah has given sufficient time to a man to think and rethink about divorce. Not only that Allah has given time to the man to think about divorce, but Allah has advised the relatives of both families for an action to be taken in an effort to keep the marriage intact. ً
If you fear a breach of marriage between them (the man and his wife), appoint one arbiter from her family and another from his. If they wish to reconcile, Allah will create a way of reconciliation between them. Indeed, Allah is All Knowing, Aware. So, in Islam, the marriage means a lifetime binding between a man and a woman. The purpose is not only to love each other and get physical and mental satisfaction, but also to form a family set up where their children may be brought up in a congenial environment. And if due to any reason it becomes difficult to live together, still Allah imposes some restrictions in an attempt to keep the marriage intact. Initially, it is ordered that final divorce cannot be given in one sitting or on one occasion. It has to be Page 6 of 7 done in three stages on three different occasions.
In verse 2:229 two opportunities are given to keep the marriage intact after the pronouncement of the first and second divorce. It is because, the decision of divorce might have been taken due to some misunderstanding or due to anger, and they might realize it later. So, they are given sufficient time to reconsider their decision before a final (third) decision of divorce is taken. And during the intervening period it is desired to try to resolve the issue through arbitration to keep the marriage intact. Then what is the meaning of the verse 2:230 as quoted above? As I mentioned earlier, the concept of Halala has been devised by some people who have no knowledge of the above-mentioned Qur’anic verses, considering just one verse of the holy Qur’an in isolation and neglecting many other verses on marriage.
Considering other verses as well, it become clear that the actual message of the verse 2:230 is that: • Divorce is not a child’s play. It has to be taken very seriously over a period of time with cool mind. • The real purpose of this restriction is that the man should think seriously before final (third) divorce. He should keep it in mind that he will not be able to marry the same woman again. And as a result of this serious thinking, especially about the future of their children, it may also become a strong tool for the reconciliation to avoid divorce. • When a divorce has taken effect with all the efforts of reconciliation, then, after the divorce, it is not worth to remarry the same woman with whom it was not considered possible to live. It is an intelligent advice from Allah and that is the reason that the remarriage with the same woman is not allowed.
And finally, after the divorce, the divorced woman, after Iddat, is allowed to enter into another marriage contract. This second marriage of divorced woman is like an ordinary marriage with the same aim as that of the first marriage – to live together for life time. So, there is no concept of short-term marriage at all. The conclusion is that whenever a marriage is solemnized, the aim should be to live together for life time. Not only for the first, but even for a second marriage, after the divorce from the first marriage, the aim should be to live together for life time. Pronouncement of divorce three times on one occasion is not allowed, and effectively it is not a divorce.
All restrictions and instructions of divorce as made clear by Allah in Qur’an, apply to the second marriage as well and there is no concept of short-term marriage. The permission to marry the same husband is allowed only when even this second marriage of woman fails with all the efforts to keep the marriage intact as defined in Qur’an. It can be seen that in the presence of such Qur’anic orders there is no room for the short term or temporary marriage which destroys the whole philosophy and purpose of marriage. So, arranging and getting a divorce after a day or a few days marriage is a clear violation of Qur’an. Those who give the ruling (Fatwa) of Halala, they in fact are acting against Allah’s orders, and will be accountable before Allah on the Day of Judgment. Muta’a is also a temporary or short-time marriage.
As explained above, there is no concept of temporary marriage for a pre-defined period in Islam. It is like making a mockery of Allah’s orders and spreading adultery in the society. The Google search tells us that a large number of Halala centres are operating in all the major cities of Pakistan. These are running as businesses not only in Pakistan but in many other countries – even in non-Muslim countries where Muslims live.
As I understand the orders of Allah, these centres have the status of “prostitution businesses” which have no fear of any reaction from the so-called religious leaders who are keeping quiet on the presence of such adultery centres. This situation (by keeping quiet) confirms that these centres not only have the approval of the religious leaders, but also have the backing of the local administration. These so-called religious leaders are misinterpreting the orders of Allah, misguiding the common men, spreading adultery, and exploiting women in the name of Islamic laws. They are also responsible for bringing bad name to Islam.
The writer is senior analyst and columnist.