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Is it permissible for a man to take his wife back after he divorced her over the phone three times, knowing that the marriage contract was concluded with a Kitābīyah (a woman of the People of the Book) without a guardian, based on the saying of Imam Abū Ḥanīfah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

We advise the questioner to go to the Sharia court or to verbally ask one of the scholars her question. The preponderant opinion according to us is that marriage without a guardian (wali) is invalid, contrary to Abu Hanifa, but if the marriage contract was concluded in imitation of his view, then it is enforceable. Divorce over the phone is considered a divorce if the husband admits to it or if two just witnesses testify to it. There is a disagreement regarding the ruling on triple divorce: the majority holds that it counts as three divorces, while Ibn Taymiyyah believes it counts as a single divorce. Shifting between muftis to seek out concessions is impermissible.

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

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