What is the ruling on returning to a husband who has divorced his wife for the third time with a clear divorce, and has taken the children to emotionally blackmail the mother into returning, knowing that he psychologically and physically harms her, and has the divorce actually occurred?
The husband is advised to go to Dar al-Ifta (Fatwa Council) to clarify the reality of the three divorces, and whether he has the right to take his wife back or marry her anew. If it is confirmed that the husband divorced his wife with three pronouncements, then she is not lawful for him until she marries another husband, as Allah Almighty says: "And if he has divorced her [for the third time], then she is not lawful to him afterward until she marries another husband." Psychological pressure does not prevent the occurrence of divorce unless it reaches the point of coercion. If the divorces are less than three, and after the 'iddah (waiting period) expires, then the husband is a suitor, and the wife has the freedom to consent. The custody of the children belongs to the mother as long as she does not remarry, and the father must allow the mother to see her children. The husband's ill-treatment of his wife and his doubting her honor are forbidden and contradict good companionship.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/194350