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Fatwa CenterHusband denies divorcing wife in an SMS
Question
Salam My marriage is not consummated but I had some privacy with my husband on phone.the privacy was partly sexual and partly general.One day I received a divorce sms on my mobile with my name like this 'I divorce you,I divorce you,I divorce you.'when I asked my husband the reason to send this message he totally denied that he sent it,but I am sure he has dine it.what's the ruling in this case?secondly,if it was my husband he didnot sent the divorce on any valid reason..we didnot have an an aggressive argument or some sort of this on the base of which he sent the message. I am really awe struck why he did this,he denies but I am sure he is the one. Kindly help Regards..
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
If it were assumed that he had written the formula of divorce, then writing the formula of divorce is an indirect pronouncement (metaphor) of divorce and divorce does not take place by it unless the husband intends it as we have already clarified in Fatwa 174947.
If it were also assumed that he had intended divorce by each statement, and this was before the consummation of the marriage and before actually staying in seclusion with you, then you become irrevocably divorced (minor irrevocable divorce) by the first pronouncement and the second and third pronouncements (divorces) are not effective with regard to you. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 256099.
It should be noted that such a telephone message could have been written by someone other than your husband. The fact that it was from his phone is not evidence that he had written it himself. So, we do not know how you can confirm that he wrote it himself. In addition to this, divorce in the present tense is a promise of divorce and divorce does not take effect unless the husband intends it. Please refer to Fatwa 198269.
In any case, the bond of marriage is still ongoing between you and your husband and you should not take into consideration any whispers or misconceptions that indicate otherwise.
Finally, the following two matters should be mentioned:
1. It is better not to delay consummation too much; this could induce the occurrence of problems or the interference of devils from the mankind and the jinn in incidents between the couple.
2. If the husband divorces his wife by pronouncing the formula of divorce or by writing the formula of divorce with the intent of issuing divorce, then divorce takes place. It is not a condition that divorce takes effect only if there is a reason for issuing it. But it is disliked for a husband to divorce his wife without a sound reason. Some scholars are of the view that it is forbidden to issue divorce in such a case, but if it is issued, it is effective.
Allaah Knows best.
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