Did العلامة Al-Albani stipulate the presence of witnesses for a divorce to be valid and enforceable, and are there any scholars who stipulated this?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Shaykh al-Albani favored the condition of requiring witnesses for divorce. Some Companions and Tabi'un held this view, such as Ali ibn Abi Talib and Imran ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them both), and Muhammad al-Baqir, Ja'far al-Sadiq, Ata', Ibn Jurayj, and Ibn Sirin. Ibn Hazm also adopted this stance. Al-San'ani attributed it to Al-Shafi'i in his old school of thought, though Al-Shafi'i's established settled on it not being obligatory. Al-Shawkani transmitted the consensus that witnessing is not obligatory for divorce, and that witnessing is recommended, not obligatory, which is the given.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/140530
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 140530
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy