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| Question:
Is the right of divorce granted to a woman as printed in her marriage form
acceptable to the Shari'ah? If not, please state the reasons.
Answer: The Qur'an explicitly states that it is the husband who has the right to divorce: In his hands, is the tie of marriage. (2:237) Women, however, can seek divorce if they want to. This prerogative, sense and reason demand, should go to the head of the family. Since, according to the Qur'an, it is the husband who is the head of a family, therefore, he has been given this right. In other words, this right is not "gender specific" it is "authority specific": whoever is entrusted with the authority of being the head should possess this right. Had women been more suitable to head a family, they would have been given this right. The statement in the marriage form which grants the wife the right to divorce therefore seems against the directives of Islam. |