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What is the ruling regarding a wife remaining with her husband, who made her divorce contingent upon an event that occurred in her past, knowing that he has divorced her twice, and that she has repented to Allah and fears his reaction and that of his family?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The two previous divorces have occurred. If a fatwa was issued stating that they did not occur because the ṭuhr (period of purity) in which intercourse took place, then it is permissible to act upon this fatwa. As for the suspended divorce, if he intended betrayal after marriage, it does not occur unless betrayal happens. But if he intended any forbidden relationship, even before marriage, then this is a valid divorce. Since this divorce is the third, the wife has become irrevocably divorced (bā’inah kubrā), and it is not permissible for him to remarry her unless she marries another man, and he consummates the marriage with her, and then divorces her or dies, and her ʿiddah (waiting period) expires. It is not permissible to remain with the husband, and she must separate from him by requesting a divorce or khulʿ (divorce at the wife's instance), or by resorting to the Sharia court, Islamic centers, or secular laws. She must conceal what happened from her in the past and not inform him.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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