Back to search

Does the husband's saying to his wife, "Go, you're a mess," after long discussions and a promise of divorce, along with his statement, "I don't want you, it's over," constitute a divorce? And what is the ruling of Islamic law regarding a wife's repeated requests for divorce without cause?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A man's promise to divorce his wife does not result in a divorce, nor is he obligated to fulfill it. And a man's saying to his wife: "Go, you are doomed" (or "wretched") or "I don't want you anymore" is an ambiguous expression that could mean divorce or something else, and divorce does not occur by it except with the intention [of divorce]. It is incumbent upon both spouses to live together amicably. The husband must use escalating means of reform with his disobedient wife, starting with admonition, then abandonment in bed, then non-violent physical discipline. If the matter reaches a state of discord, then it is obligatory to resort to the arbitration of two arbitrators to reconcile between them. Divorce is the last resort.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy