Is the wife considered divorced if the husband wrote a document divorcing her while in a state of extreme anger, claiming he was not fully conscious, and then recanted after a long period, arguing that he was nearly insane?
Anger does not usually prevent the occurrence of divorce, unless the husband reaches a state where he is unaware of what he is saying and cannot control his actions; in such a case, his divorce does not take effect. Ibn al-Qayyim explained that anger has three categories: The first is when it is at its beginning, with awareness and intent, in which case his divorce takes effect. The second is when it reaches its extreme, and he is unaware of what he is saying, in which case his utterance is not effective. The third is what falls between these two states, which is subject to consideration, and the evidence indicates that his utterances are not effective. Accordingly, if the husband divorced his wife in a state of mental incapacitation due to anger, his divorce is not effective. However, if it was merely ordinary anger and he was aware of what he was saying, then she is divorced from him. If a dispute arises, the matter should be referred to the competent courts.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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