Is the husband's filing for divorce in a German court after a year of residential separation—while the marriage remains valid Islamically—considered an Islamic divorce, especially since he desires her return as a life partner, not as a wife, after 28 years of marriage?

Divorce does not occur merely by filing a request for divorce with the court. Rather, the wife does not cease to be under the husband's marital bond until the husband actually divorces her, either by uttering the divorce pronouncement or by writing it with the intention of divorce. If the marital bond is still in effect, the woman remains a wife, having the rights of wives and being bound by their duties. We advise the husband to fear Allah and to treat his wife with kindness.