What is the ruling on a man who divorced his wife with a khulʿ divorce marrying her again, if the ma’dhoun (marriage officiant) عقد عليهما (solemnized their marriage) in the presence of one witness and verbally without a document, after her ‘iddah (waiting period) ended and her family refused, and does he have full marital rights over her, and is it permissible for her to marry another man, or is he obligated to divorce her verbally?

If an Ibra divorce (divorce by absolution) is intended as a divorce in exchange for compensation, it is considered a Khul' and is an irrevocable divorce (Talaq (definition) Ba'in). She is not permissible for her husband except with a new contract that fulfills all the conditions for a valid marriage. What the registrar did was an invalid marriage (Nikah (definition) Fasid (definition)) because it was conducted without the permission of the woman's guardian (Wali) and without the presence of two witnesses, if the registrar was the one who performed the contract. This invalid marriage requires a divorce or annulment according to the Maliki and Hanbali schools, while the Shafi'i school holds that it does not require a divorce or annulment. This husband has no rights over the woman due to the invalidity of the contract. If he wishes to renew the contract, all the pillars of a valid marriage must be met. The matter should be referred to a Sharia (definition) court.