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What is the Sharia ruling regarding the marriage of a woman whose divorce has not yet been decreed, given that her husband refuses to divorce her and has filed a polygamy case against her?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible for a woman to marry until her husband has separated from her through divorce or annulment, and her iddah (waiting period) has expired. Separation does not occur except by the husband divorcing her, or by khul (divorce at the wife's instance with compensation), or by the ruling of a Muslim judge for divorce or annulment. The ruling of a non-Muslim judge is not valid.

If the husband refuses to divorce her, she must refer the matter to a Sharia court if one exists. Otherwise, she should refer it to trustworthy scholars in Islamic centers, as they serve in place of Sharia courts when they are unavailable.

If the spouses dispute over divorce, the Islamic centers act in place of the Sharia judiciary. However, resorting to secular courts to end the marriage legally does not end it Islamically. Therefore, she must approach the Islamic centers to complete it according to Sharia.

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

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