What is the ruling regarding a married couple if one of them curses the Divine Being, and does divorce occur as a result, and what are the implications for the rights of the other party?

Cursing Allah Almighty is one of the gravest forms of disbelief, and it necessitates apostasy from Islam by scholarly consensus. If one spouse curses the Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, they have apostatized thereby. Scholars have unanimously agreed that an apostate is separated from their Muslim spouse and is not allowed to be alone with them or engage in intercourse.

Then, a dispute arose as to whether the separation between them occurs immediately upon apostasy, or if it is contingent upon the completion of the waiting period (iddah). Some scholars said that the separation is immediate, while others said it is contingent upon the completion of the iddah. If the apostate embraces Islam before its completion, they remain married. If they do not embrace Islam until it has ended, she becomes irrevocably separated from him from the moment the religions diverged. This applies if the apostasy occurred after consummation. However, if it occurred before consummation, the separation takes place immediately upon apostasy, by unanimous agreement among the general body of scholars.

The separation resulting from apostasy is considered an annulment (faskh) by the majority of scholars, while for the Malikis, it is an irrevocable divorce (talāq bā'in). If the wife apostatizes before consummation, she receives no dowry. If she apostatizes after consummation, she receives the entire dowry. As for the rights of the apostate husband's wife, she receives half the dowry if the apostasy occurred before consummation, and the full dowry if it occurred after.

Maintenance (nafaqah) during the iddah varies depending on the dispute regarding the immediacy of separation or its contingency on the completion of the iddah. If the separation is immediate, there is no maintenance. If it is contingent on the completion of the iddah, and the woman is the apostate, there is no maintenance. If the man is the apostate, then he is obligated to provide maintenance.

In some cases, the wife is entitled to a dowry of similar value (mahr al-mithl) if her husband has intercourse with her during the iddah after his apostasy.