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Is the wife's acknowledgment of a valid seclusion (khalwa) required to prove it, and what is the Sharia ruling on her marriage to another man if the judge rules that the seclusion was invalid?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The majority of scholars hold that a valid seclusion (khalwa sahiha) between spouses entails legal consequences, such as the obligation of the full dowry and the iddah (waiting period). If the husband claims seclusion and the wife denies it, her word is accepted, and in that case, she is only entitled to half of the dowry if she has not yet received it. However, if the case reaches a judge, the seclusion must be proven or his ruling accepted. A divorce issued by a judge is outwardly binding, but it does not make lawful what is forbidden if it contradicts reality. Therefore, it is not permissible for the wife to marry another man while she is still legally bound to the first.

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

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