Divorce & khulʿ — what happens next

The rulings on ṭalāq, khulʿ, faskh and ʿiddah from our Women & family fiqh reference, set out in order — each with its cited answer.

For your own situation

This page is general guidance, not a ruling for your case.

It cannot weigh the facts of your situation — the exact words said, the people involved, the law where you live. Put your question to a qualified scholar before acting on it.

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Questions sent here are reviewed by our team and answers can take time. We do not rule on private disputes online — for those, go to a scholar or court near you.

1

How a marriage can end

The three routes the data describes: ṭalāq by the husband, khulʿ sought by the wife, and faskh by a court.

What are the types of ṭalāq (sunnī/bidʿī, rajʿī/bāʾin)?

Ṭalāq al-Sunnah is the prescribed manner: a single revocable ṭalāq pronounced in a ṭuhr (period of purity) in which there has been no intercourse, then left to run through the ʿiddah. Ṭalāq al-Bidʿah is the blameworthy manner: pronouncing during ḥayḍ, or in a ṭuhr after intercourse, or three at once — sinful, though the schools differ on whether it counts (see below). By effect: rajʿī (revocable) — the husband may take her back within the ʿiddah without a new contract; bāʾin (irrevocable) — minor bāʾin requires a new contract to remarry, and major bāʾin (after a third ṭalāq) bars remarriage until she lawfully marries and is divorced by another (without contrivance).

This answer does not split the positions by school.

Evidence:Qurʾān (65:1), (2:229–230); Bukhārī 5251 & Muslim 1471 (Ibn ʿUmar — divorce in a ṭuhr).

What is khulʿ (wife-initiated separation)?

Khulʿ is when the wife seeks release from the marriage, typically by returning the mahr (or an agreed sum) to the husband, who then frees her. It is established by the Qurʾān and the case of the wife of Thābit ibn Qays, whom the Prophet ﷺ told to return his garden and accept the separation. The majority treat the resulting separation as an irrevocable (bāʾin) annulment-type parting; the ʿiddah after khulʿ is one menstrual cycle on a strong view (or three by another). A wife should pursue khulʿ through a scholar or court where the husband refuses, not unilaterally.

This answer does not split the positions by school.

Evidence:Qurʾān (2:229); Bukhārī 5273 (the wife of Thābit ibn Qays); Tirmidhī 1185 on the one-cycle ʿiddah of the khulʿ.

What is faskh (judicial annulment)?

Faskh is a dissolution of the marriage by a qāḍī/scholar for a recognised cause — e.g. the husband’s prolonged failure to provide maintenance (nafaqah), serious harm or abuse, desertion, impotence, or a grave defect. Unlike ṭalāq it is a court act, not the husband’s word. The Mālikī school is broadest in granting faskh for harm and non-maintenance, which is why courts in many lands follow it for women trapped in harmful or abandoned marriages; the Ḥanafīs are narrower but allow faskh for specific defects and (via fatwā) for harm. A woman seeking faskh must go through a legitimate Islamic court or qualified body.

Schools named in this answer:HanafiMaliki

Evidence:Qurʾān (2:231) ("do not retain them to harm them"); the grounds for faskh are detailed in the schools, broadest in the Mālikī madhhab.

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2

Before treating a ṭalāq as final

Whether words said in anger, while intoxicated, or "three at once" took effect is contested. The data itself says: take the exact words to a qualified muftī.

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Does ṭalāq pronounced in anger or while intoxicated count?

Anger: ordinary anger does not prevent ṭalāq from taking effect, since most divorce happens in anger. But EXTREME rage in which a person loses awareness of what he says (ghalaq) is excused by many scholars — "there is no ṭalāq… in a state of ighlāq." A specific case needs scholarly judgement of the man’s state. Intoxication: the majority (Ḥanafī, Mālikī, and a Shāfiʿī/Ḥanbalī view) count the ṭalāq of one who became intoxicated by sin, as a penalty; another respected view (and the position for one intoxicated involuntarily, or who is unconscious/insane) is that it does not count. This is a serious, contested matter — do not rely on a self-judgement; consult a scholar.

Schools named in this answer:HanafiMalikiShafi'iHanbali

Evidence:Abū Dāwūd 2193 (ḥadīth on no ṭalāq in ighlāq — graded variously, ḥasan by some); the rest is the ijtihād of the schools.

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How are the schools on the "three ṭalāqs at once" issue?

When a man says "three ṭalāqs" (or repeats ṭalāq three times) in one sitting, the MAINSTREAM position of all four schools is that three irrevocable ṭalāqs occur (major bāʾin), making remarriage unlawful until the wife lawfully marries another and is then divorced — and ʿUmar (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) enforced this counting. A MINORITY of respected scholars (including a report from Ibn ʿAbbās, and Ibn Taymiyyah/Ibn al-Qayyim) held that three-in-one-sitting count as a single revocable ṭalāq, citing a narration in Muslim from the time of the Prophet ﷺ and Abū Bakr. This is one of the gravest and most disputed questions in family fiqh; a couple in this situation MUST take their exact words and circumstances to a qualified muftī and not act on a layperson’s reading.

This answer does not split the positions by school.

Evidence:Qurʾān (2:229–230); Muslim 1472 (Ibn ʿAbbās report); the majority counting is the position of the four schools and the practice under ʿUmar.

3

The ʿiddah (waiting period)

As the data states it. No date is calculated here: which case applies, and when it began, is for a scholar to confirm.

What are the ʿiddah periods (divorced, widow, pregnant)?

These are fixed by the Qurʾān. Divorced woman who menstruates: three qurūʾ (the schools differ on whether qurūʾ means three menstruations — Ḥanafī, Ḥanbalī — or three purities — Mālikī, Shāfiʿī). Divorced woman who does not menstruate (pre-puberty or post-menopause): three lunar months. Pregnant woman (divorced OR widowed): until she delivers — this is her ʿiddah. Widow (not pregnant): four lunar months and ten days. A woman divorced before consummation has NO ʿiddah at all. She observes mourning (ḥidād) only for a deceased husband.

Schools named in this answer:HanafiMalikiShafi'iHanbali

Evidence:Qurʾān (2:228), (65:4), (2:234); Bukhārī 5336 & Muslim 1486 (mourning of the widow).

4

During the ʿiddah: taking back

What the data says about rujūʿ in a revocable ṭalāq, and what happens if the ʿiddah ends without it.

How does the husband take her back (rujūʿ) in a revocable ṭalāq?

In a revocable (rajʿī) ṭalāq, while the ʿiddah is still running, the husband may take his wife back WITHOUT a new contract or new mahr — the marriage is simply resumed. The majority say rujūʿ is valid by word ("I take you back") and the Ḥanafīs and others also recognise it by conduct (resuming intimacy with the intention of return). It is recommended to do it before two witnesses, as the Qurʾān directs. If the ʿiddah expires without rujūʿ, the ṭalāq becomes bāʾin and a new contract is needed to remarry (if it was not a third ṭalāq).

Schools named in this answer:Hanafi

Evidence:Qurʾān (2:228), (65:2) (taking back with two witnesses); the methods of rujūʿ are detailed by the schools.

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5

Rights after the separation

Maintenance (nafaqah) and custody (ḥaḍānah) as the data summarises them. The data itself says these vary by case and place — settle them through a scholar or court.

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What are the woman’s rights after divorce (nafaqah, custody/ḥaḍānah)?

Maintenance (nafaqah): a revocably-divorced woman is owed full maintenance and housing throughout her ʿiddah; an irrevocably-divorced PREGNANT woman is owed maintenance until delivery by consensus, and the schools differ on housing/maintenance for the non-pregnant bāʾin (Ḥanafī: she keeps both; Shāfiʿī: housing but the maintenance question is detailed; the ḥadīth of Fāṭimah bint Qays is discussed here). Custody (ḥaḍānah): in early childhood the mother has the prior right to custody (the schools set ages — commonly until about 7 for a boy and until puberty/marriage for a girl, with variation), provided she is fit and does not marry a non-maḥram to the child; thereafter custody/choice may pass per the school’s rules. The child’s welfare governs, and the father remains financially responsible for the children throughout. These outcomes vary by case and locale — settle them through a scholar or court.

Schools named in this answer:HanafiShafi'i

Evidence:Qurʾān (65:6), (2:233), (65:7); Muslim 1480 (ḥadīth of Fāṭimah bint Qays); Abū Dāwūd 2276 (mother’s prior right to custody — ḥasan).

The same rulings in the Women & family fiqh reference

For your own situation

This page is general guidance, not a ruling for your case.

It cannot weigh the facts of your situation — the exact words said, the people involved, the law where you live. Put your question to a qualified scholar before acting on it.

Ask a scholar about your caseRead answered questions
  • Divorce, inheritance and wills also have legal effects where you live. Speak to a local Islamic court, family court or lawyer as well — a web page or an online answer cannot register, enforce or protect anything.

Questions sent here are reviewed by our team and answers can take time. We do not rule on private disputes online — for those, go to a scholar or court near you.