Khula

Khula is a request for Talaaq from the woman’s side. In this request, the woman offers a sum to her husband so that he gives her Talaaq in return.

Once, during the time of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam), a woman came by Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) and expressed her disgust for her husband and the desire for separation. Nabi (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) told the woman to return her husband the garden that he had given her as Mahr and to ask for her Talaaq.

The right to give Talaaq is in the hands of a husband. A woman does not have the right to take Talaaq by herself. If she finds it difficult to live with her husband due to some problems, then she has the right to ask for her freedom through Khula. If the husband consents, then she can get Khula, otherwise, she will not be able to get it nor any committee or board of 'Ulama can give it to her because Khula is done and concluded by mutual agreement of the two parties. A woman cannot get it without the agreement of her husband.

Nowadays, we find that this principle is being wrongly applied. A woman thinks that she can get her Khula if she does not want to continue living with her husband and if she has already returned her Mahr to her husband. This is completely false. It must be understood that there is no Khula without the agreement and consent of the partners. This is the principle that the 'Ulama have understood ever since.

Thus, there is no Khula without the consent of the husband. If a woman makes a new Nikaah with a false Khula of this like, she will live in Zina forever. And endorsing such a Khula is like sanctioning/approving Zina. It is very serious and very reprehensible for organisations, committees or panels who commit such blunders. People who do not know are already committing things that should not be committed but one would not have imagined that this would have been endorsed and encouraged by organisations operating under the name of Islam.

[English version of "Khula" – Al Jamiat – Vol.6 No.10]