Could Random Words Constitute Divorce?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
1. My wife asked me a general question about food, and I answered “no” with the intention of divorce. Will this event count as a divorce?
2. Will saying these short words with the intention of divorce be counted?
“Go” / “Enough” / “No” / “Alone”
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.
The word “no” carries no meaning of divorce, and saying it with the intention of divorce amounts to nothing, and Allah knows best. [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘ Sharh al-Muhadhdhab]
Using expressions that could carry the meaning of divorce, albeit unclear, with the intention of divorce, would count as a valid divorce.
However, using short or long, random words that carry no reasonable correlation to divorce is vain speech or waswasa. One should avoid such mind games as much as possible.
Related
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- Could I Have Divorced My Wife Unwillingly?
- How Should I Deal with Waswasa about Divorce?
- I Have Baseless Misgivings (Waswasa) About the Soundness of My Faith and My Marriage
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
