Faskh
*Faskh* is dissolving a contract and undoing the legal effects it created.
What it means for me: In marriage, faskh lifts the contract itself. A judge orders it, or it follows a defect, harm, or a failure to provide maintenance. It is not a *talaq*, the husband's own pronouncement of divorce. In the common view, a faskh is not counted among the three pronouncements a marriage allows.
Example: A wife petitions a judge after her husband disappears and sends no support for years. The judge dissolves the marriage through faskh, not through a talaq the husband never pronounced.
Do not confuse with: Talaq, Khula, and the general phrase 'judicial separation.' Talaq is the husband's own pronouncement, needing no judge. Khula ends the marriage in exchange for something the wife gives up, usually with her agreement. 'Judicial separation' is sometimes used loosely as another name for faskh, which can blur the two together.
If scholars differ: Schools differ on what counts as sufficient grounds for faskh. Some accept a wide range, including lasting harm or prolonged absence. Others limit it to a narrower set of defects and failures.
See the term in context
1. Do explicit divorce pronouncements uttered by the wife after a divorce for absolution (Ibra')—while she is still in her waiting period (Iddah)—have any legal effect, and is it true that they do not because reconciliation (raj'ah) is not possible? 2. Does the waiting period (Iddah) for a divorce based on absolution (Ibra') differ such that the husband does not have the right to reconcile with his divorced wife, but he is permitted to remarry her during her waiting period (Iddah) and no one else, and is this correct? 3. Is the phrase "You are divorced from me for that [consideration]" considered Khul' (dissolution of marriage initiated by the wife) according to Ibn Taymiyyah and thus not counted as a divorce pronouncement, even if it is an explicit divorce utterance, or is it dependent on intention? And is there a jurisprudential opinion that considers it Khul' or annulment (faskh) regardless of intention, and it is not counted as a divorce pronouncement? 4. Does the fact that the divorced woman receives more than what she agreed to waive during the absolution (Ibra') make the divorce by absolution valid and not counted as a divorce pronouncement according to Ibn Taymiyyah, and do explicit divorce pronouncements not affect her before the end of her waiting period (Iddah) because she is not considered a wife? 5. If a divorce by absolution (Ibra') is considered a divorce and counted among the divorce pronouncements in prevailing legal practice, is it permissible for the husband, upon his third divorce, not to register it and to adopt Ibn Taymiyyah's view that a divorce by absolution is not counted as a divorce pronouncement? And if the first divorce was by absolution, is the third divorce then considered the second, and is the husband permitted to reconcile with her during her waiting period (Iddah) or to remarry her after its expiry?
1. Divorce by way of ibra' (a woman seeking divorce in exchange for renouncing her financial rights) is an irrevocable divorce (طلاق بائن). No further divorce can be issued to the wife after it, regardless of whether…
Is it considered unlawful (haram) or is its ruling permissible for a wife to seek khul’ from her husband—after two divorces have already occurred between them—with the intention of restoring the number of divorces to three, based on the opinion that khul’ is an annulment (faskh) and not a divorce (talaq)?
"There is a difference of opinion among jurists regarding whether khul' (divorce at the wife's instance) is a talaq (repudiation) or a faskh (annulment), with the preponderant view being that it is a talaq. Khul' does…
Is the divorce considered to have occurred by an allusive utterance and explicit intention when the husband said to the wife's father: "Rather, we will complete the procedures, and I do not want to continue marital life with her, nor is there any intention of reconciliation"? If so, has the legal waiting period (iddah) ended after six menstrual cycles have passed? Or does the iddah begin from the date of the court's decision of separation? And is the wife's request to end the marital life considered Khulʿ (divorce at the wife's instance with compensation), Faskh (annulment), or Talaq (unilateral divorce by the husband), and does the iddah differ in these cases?
Divorce occurs either by the husband initiating it or by the ruling of a Muslim judge. If the husband does not utter the divorce, nor authorize someone for it, nor write it with the intention of divorce, then divorce…
Questions that use it
What is the method for annulment of marriage (faskh al-nikah), and is it a condition to utter the divorce (talaq) pronouncement when annulling the marriage?
Is the wife entitled to seek an annulment of the marriage (faskh) if her husband beats her, even though she stipulated in the marriage contract that he would not beat her, regardless of whether the beating was necessary due to her disobedience (nushuz) or without reason? And if the husband denies the beating, who is to be believed and what becomes of each of them?
What is meant by Khulʿ and Faskh?