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DIVORCE |
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The unwanted wife has always been a pathetic figure;
more so in the olden days. In Persia, they were usually
just sold off. In the Roman colony of Syria-Lebanon
the prevailing law permitted a husband to even kill
a recalcitrant wife. The Catholic Church does not
permit a divorce. Since all Europe was only catholic
till as recently as the 16th century, unwanted wives
were simply sent off to a convent, to be forcibly
made nuns. In India and China, they were just discarded.
Unquestionably, women occupied a very low position
on the social scale. It is against this background,
when there was no such thing as a divorce anywhere
in the world, that for the first time in human history,
Islam introduced the concept of a legal divorce.
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At
the same time, the fact that it is always a traumatic
experience for a woman was not forgotten. It was accepted
but only as a necessary evil, to be avoided if possible.
Prophet Muhammad has declared that, "Of all the
permitted actions, a divorce is the most detestable
before God."
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Therefore,
various in-built checks, to ensure that a divorce
does not result because of a decision taken in anger,
are inherent to the code. Arbitration is always mandatory,
as the first step. Chapter
4
says,
"If
you fear a breach between a man and his wife, appoint
an arbiter from his side and one from hers. If they
wish to be reconciled, Allah will bring them together
again."
(From
Holy Qur'an 4/35)
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Another check is the compulsory waiting period of
three lunar months. Many a reconciliation is known
to have taken place during this period because the
wife is to stay in the husband's home in the waiting
period; human nature being what it is, it is difficult
to live in close proximity with the woman who was
once a wife and yet hold on to the resolve of the
divorce, unless the issue is really serious.
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The
Islamic code is a marvelous blend of fairplay
and pragmatism. In passing must be mentioned a
provision which virtually eliminates the possibility
of a crooked divorce, being used only as a ruse
to humble the wife. If a man wishes to remarry
his divorced wife, he can do so, the law says;
but only after she has married some one else and
has had marital relations with him: This condition
puts the male ego under such a severe strain that
no one playacts a divorce scene.
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To
revert to the subject of divorce, if there is an unborn
child at that juncture, all its rights (Patronym,
inheritance etc.) are fully protected. So also are
the woman's right to lodgment and maintenance; in
fact, sympathy for the divorced woman becomes almost
palpable when the commands of Chapter
65
are studied.
"If
you (believers) divorce your wives, divorce them at
the end of the waiting period. Have fear of Allah,
your Lord; do not expel them from their homes....
When they have reached their prescribed time, either
keep them honorably or part with them honorably. Call
to witness two honest men amongst you and give your
testimony before Allah.... For pregnant women, their
term shall be the time they deliver.... Lodge them
in your own homes, according to your means. Do not
harass them so as to make life intolerable for them"
(From
Holy Qur'an 65/1to6)
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