Is the husband's consent a prerequisite for his wife's request for Khulʿ, or is Khulʿ permissible without his consent if there is a legitimate Sharʿi reason for her request, and what is the opinion of the early Islamic scholars on this matter?

The basic principle concerning khulʿ (divorce at the instance of the wife) is that it does not occur except with the husband's consent. However, some jurists have made an exception for cases of irreconcilable conflict between the spouses, permitting khulʿ without the husband's consent, either by a ruling from a Sharia (definition) judge or by the arbitration of two arbiters if the wife is the cause of the discord and they both agree on khulʿ.

This issue is a matter of ijtihād (independent reasoning) and is subject to scholarly disagreement; it is not a matter of consensus. While the Malikis and those who agree with them hold that the two arbiters have the authority to separate the couple without explicit authorization, the Shafi'is and Hanafis maintain that they cannot effect a separation except with the husband's explicit authorization, because the default principle is that divorce is in the hands of the husband.