What is the ruling on the marriage of a woman who was repeatedly divorced by her first husband, then secretly married his brother, then his brother was forced to divorce her, and her first husband married her again claiming she was a virgin, after all the humiliation she endured and the denial of her rights?
We blame the wife's family for condoning the injustice inflicted upon their daughter. As for the wife and her relationship with her husband, this requires further inquiry from her. We mention some rulings that may apply to her situation:
1. If the first husband divorced her twice, he can take her back. If he divorced her three times, she is not lawful for him until she marries another husband through a marriage of desire. 2. If her second marriage was secretly conducted without her family's knowledge, then the marriage is invalid, and she is not lawful for her first husband. 3. If her family agreed to the second marriage and it was valid and not a marriage of tahleel (a marriage intended to make a divorced woman lawful for her first husband), then it is a valid marriage. 4. If the second husband divorced her under duress, his divorce is not effective, and she remains his wife. 5. If the divorce from the second husband was not under duress, but rather due to insistence or embarrassment, or if the brother could have refrained from divorcing her without suffering harm, then the divorce is effective. 6. Her return to her first husband with a new contract is invalid if it was without a guardian, because the maternal uncle has no guardianship, and if her return was without her consent. If he divorced her three times, she is not lawful for him until she marries another husband through a valid marriage. 7. It is not permissible to lie when concluding a marriage contract by describing the woman as a virgin when she is not, but this does not affect the validity of the contract if the husband knows the truth.
Given the multitude of details, the case should be presented to a knowledgeable scholar in detail for him to rule on it.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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