Is a divorce that was issued under duress and threat of imprisonment valid, even though the one who pronounced the divorce had no intention of divorcing?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If you are overwhelmingly certain that you will be unjustly imprisoned if you do not divorce your wife—and there is no Shar'i reason to compel you to divorce her—then your divorce does not take effect. For the divorce of one who is coerced does not take effect, and coercion occurs through threats or overwhelming certainty of harm. However, if the coercion is rightful, then the divorce is valid.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/101757
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 101757
- 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