A Critical Analysis of Divorce Under Muslim Personal Law in India

Paper Details 

Paper Code: RP-VBCL-06-2025

Category: Research Paper

Date of Publication: April 20, 2025

Citation: Prof. Dr. Raghuveer G Kulkarni, “A Critical Analysis of Divorce Under Muslim Personal Law in India", 2, AIJVBCL, 74, 74-89 (2025).

Author Details: Prof. Dr. Raghuveer G Kulkarni, Principal, BLDE (Deemed to be University)’s School of Law, Vijayapura, Karnataka

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ABSTRACT

This article provides a detailed overview of the various dimensions of divorce as governed by Muslim personal lawin India. The paper highlights that divorce practices existed among ancient Arabs before Islam, often in an arbitrary manner. This historical context has shaped Islamic divorce laws, despite the Prophet Mohammed's disapproval of easy divorce, which he considered detestable. This historical backdrop is crucial for understanding the current legal framework surrounding divorce in Muslim communities. It also discusses the distinct legal frameworks governing divorce for Muslims in India. Under Muslim law, divorce is primarily based on fault or guilt, and it recognizes both unilateral and mutual divorce, which is a significant aspect of the legal discourse. The article emphasizes the cultural aspects of divorce, stressing the importance of mutual understanding and respect in marital relationships. It suggests that the erosion of these values can lead to serious personal and social issues, indicating a broader societal impact of divorce practices. Here the author advocates for reforms in the personal laws governing Muslims in India, suggesting that these changes should align with contemporary values while still adhering to the principles outlined in the Quran. This reflects a growing recognition of the need to adapt legal practices to modern societal norms. The main goal of the paper is to analyse the current state of divorce under Muslim personal law in India, exploring its implications for individuals and society, and advocating for necessary changes to improve the legal framework surrounding divorce.

Keywords: Divorce, Muslim Personal Law, Islam, Talaq

INTRODUCTION

The article highlights the historical evolution of divorce practices in Islamic law, noting that before Islam, divorce was prevalent and often arbitrary among ancient Arabs. This tendency has influenced Islamic law, although the Prophet Mohammed expressed disapproval of easy divorce, emphasizing its detestable nature.It discusses the legal structures governing divorce in India, particularly concerning the personal laws of Muslims, which are distinct from other personal laws like Hindu law. The article notes that under Muslim law, divorce is primarily based on fault or guilt, and it recognizes both unilateral and mutual divorce.

The article also touches on the cultural implications of divorce, emphasizing the need for mutual understanding and respect in marital relationships. It suggests that the breakdown of these values can lead to significant personal and social issues.

The article indicates a need for reforms in the personal laws of Muslims in India, suggesting that modifications should align with contemporary values while remaining within the outlines of the Quran. This reflects a broader discussion on the need to adapt legal practices to modern societal norms.

The primary objective outlined is to analyse the current divorce state under Muslim personal law in India, explore its implications for individuals and society, and advocate for necessary changes to improve the legal framework surrounding divorce.

The article also effectively sets the tone for a detailed exploration of the complexities surrounding divorce in the context of the personal lawsof Muslims in India, highlighting historical, legal, and cultural dimensions.

Divorce under Muslim Law

            Unlike Hindu law, death alone dissolves a marriage under Muslim law. A Muslim woman cannot re-marryimmediately after the death of her husband and she has to wait for the completion of Iddat period. According to several authors, before Islam, divorce among the ancient Arabs was of frequent occurrence and very easy which has continued to some extent in Islamic law. However, it was observed that the Prophet Mohammed undoubtedly showed his dislike for this. It is reported that, he said, ‘Allah is the most disgusting of all acceptable.’ The crude method of divorce can be witnessed in Cadi Numan’srecords of an instance, where Ali refused to divorce one of his four wives to marry another, and he told the people of Kufa not to give their daughters in marriage toImam Hasan, his son, for he was in the habit of marrying and divorcing a large number of women, a course of action which Ali disapproved.[1]

            According to Tyabji, the pre-Islamic Arabs could keep their wives in a species of perpetual bondage, pretending to take them back after repeated divorces, merely to prevent the wives from remarrying and from seeking the then much-needed protection of a husband. Thus divorce, in the Hanafi school, had become a one-sided engine of oppression in the hands of the husband. An Arab could marry and give divorce to a lot of women. There was no provision for Divorce under Islamic law at that time. Arabs considered women as an instrument for conjugal happiness.[2]

            According to Ameer Ali, the reforms of Prophet Mohammed marked a new departure in the history of Eastern legislation. He restrained the supremacy of divorce possessed by the husbands. He provided the women the right to obtain a separation on reasonable grounds and towards the end of his life he went so far as practically to forbid its exercise by the means without the intervention of arbiters or a judge. He pronounced 'Talak to be the most detestable before the Almighty God of all permitted things', for it prevented conjugal happiness and interfered with the proper bringing up of children.[3]

The permission, therefore, in the Quran, though it gave certain countenance to the old customs, has to be read with the light of the Lawgiver's own words. When it is borne in mind how closelythe law and religion are connected in the Islamic custom, it will be easy to understand the bearing of the words on the institution of divorce.

            Even though, the Prophet has said that ‘With Allah, the most detestable of all permitted things is Divorce’, under modern Indian Muslim law, divorce in its unconstrained form is recognised. According to Muslim law, divorce is placed in the category of permissible things, and divorce is considered to be the most despicable of the permissible things, yet this despicable thing has existed in abundance.

CLASSIFICATION OF DIVORCE UNDER MUSLIM LAW

The contract of marriage under the Mahomedan law may be dissolved in any of the following ways.

            I           By the Husband at his will, without the intervention of a Court,

II         By mutual consent of the Husband and Wife, without the intervention of a Court,

            III        By a Judicial decree at the suit of the Husband or Wife.

The wife cannot divorce herself from her husband without his consent, except under a contract whether made before or after marriage, but she may, in some cases, obtain a divorce by judicial decree.[4] In the first two categories, neither, the decree of the court nor intervention of any person is required. Divorce in both these cases is essentially the private act of either one party or both the parties.

I           By The Husband At His Will Without The Intervention Of A Court (Unilateral Divorce)

            The term Talak denotes ‘repudiation’, that means ‘to release (an animal) from a tether’; whence, to repudiate the wife or free her from the bondage of marriage.[5] The most remarkable feature of Talak is that all the schools of the Sunnis and the Shias recognise it; they differ only in some details.Among Muslims, the Talak has been widespread, and even the Imams practiced it. The absolute power of a Muslim husband of divorcing his wife unilaterally, without giving any reason, without any single cause, literally at his whim, even in a jest or in a state of intoxication and without recourse to the Court is recognised in modern India.[6]

It can even be exercised in the absence of the wife. The only thing it requires is a pronouncement of Talak by the husband, irrespective of how he has pronounced it and at what time he has pronounced it.Among the Sunnis, Talak may be expressed, implied, contingent, constructive, or even delegated. But the Shias, recognise only the express and the delegated Talak.

Express Talak

            The divorce is express,with clear and unequivocal words, like“I have divorced thee” are uttered. The Express Talak falls into two categories, Talak-ul-sunna (approved) and Talak-ul-badai or Talak-ul-bidaat or Talak-ul-bida (Disapproved). The Talak-ul-sunna has two forms namely, Ashan and Hasan. Ashan is the most approved format of divorce among the Sunnis and Hasan is the approved one. The Talak-ul-badai, also has two forms, Three Declarations at one time (Triple Talak) and One Irrevocable Declaration(generally in writing).[7]

i)                    Talak-Ul-Sunna

Ashan Talak

            This form is consisting a solitary pronouncement of divorce made during tuhr period i.e., purity (the period between menstruations) or at any time, if the wife is free from menstruation, followed by abstinence from sexual intercourse during the period of iddat. The requirement that pronouncement of talak should be made during a period of tuhrapplies only to oral divorce, it does not apply to talak in writing. Similarly, this requirement is not applicable when the wife has passed the age of menstruation or the party are living separately for a long time or when the marriage has not been consummated.[8]

The advantage of this form of talak is that the divorce can be revoked at any time before the completion of iddat. It can prevent hasty and thoughtless divorces. The revocation may be effected expressly or impliedly.Resumption of sexual intercourse before the completion of iddat also results in the revocation of divorce. According to Radd-ul-muhtar, “it is proper and right to observe this form, for human nature is apt to be misled and to lead astray the mind far to perceive faults which may not exist and to commit mistakes for which one is certain to feel ashamed afterwards”.[9]In this form, the parties are free to remarry subsequently at any times.

Hasan Talak

            In the Hasan Talak, the husband is required to pronounce the formula of talak (i.e., the utterance of the words, “I divorce thee”) three times during three successive tuhrs. If the wife has crossed the age of menstruation, then the pronouncement of talak may be made after a month or 30 days between the successive pronouncements. When the last pronouncement is made, the talak becomes final and irrevocable. It is necessary that each of the three pronouncements must be made at a time when no intercourse has taken place during that period of tuhr.[10]

            The significance of this form of talak can be understood only in the background of the Pre-Islamic Arabian practice, under which pronouncement of divorce in one tuhr, followed by its revocation and again a pronouncement followed by revocation could go on endlessly, leading to misery, harassment and humiliation of women. To put an end to this vicious practice, the prophet laid down that the divorce would become final and irrevocable at the third pronouncement. It was also laid down that the parties were not free to remarry unless the wife married another man, who had actually consummated the marriage, and then divorced her. On the completion of the iddat, the woman could marry her former husband. This is a penal provision meant to reprimand the husband who repudiates his wife thoughtlessly. No thoughts were wasted on the fact that it was a greater punishment and humiliation to the woman.[11]

ii)                  Talak-Ul-Bida

            This kind of Talak came into force during the second century of Islam. Amir Ali depicts the historical background thus: “The Omayyid monarchs finding that the checks imposed by the Prophet on the facility of repudiation interfered with the indulgence of their caprice, endeavoured to find an escape from the strictness of law and found, a loophole to effect their purpose”.[12]

The talak-ul-bida has two forms[13] : (i)the triple declaration of talakis made in a period of purity, either in one sentence, such as “I divorce thee triply or thrice” or in their sentences, such as “I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee”. After the third pronouncement is made, marriage stands to be dissolved irrevocably.(ii)The other form of talak-ul-bida constitutes a single irrevocable pronouncement of divorce made in a period of purity or even otherwise. This also results in the irrevocable dissolution of marriage. The triple pronouncement is not an essential part of the Talak-al-Bida. If the intention seems to be clear, the divorce will take place.[14]Thus, if a husband says to his wife, “I had divorced thee in talak-ul-bidda or talak-ul-bain form”, that is enough, and an irrevocable divorce results.

            Shias have not recognised any of the forms of talak-ul-bidda. In this form of divorce, remarriage can take place only if the wife undergoes an intermediate marriage as in the case of the hasantalak. This form of divorce is condemned. It is considered heretical, because of its irrevocability. The talak-ul-bidda which is “good in law though bad in theology” is the most common mode of divorce prevalent in India.[15]

            In Shayara Bano and Others v. Union of India and Others [AIR 2017 SC 4609], the Supreme Court had declared Triple Talakas unconstitutional. Hence, the Central Government has abolished the Triple Talakand made it punishable act, by passing TheMuslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. Now triple Talak is banned in India.

Implied And Contingent Divorce

            Sometimes the words used in the pronouncement of Talak may not be clear. In such cases, divorce will be implied, if the intention to divorce is proved. According to Abdul Rahim, “The word Talak in its different grammatical forms is regarded as express by other expressions which may be construed as meaning repudiation of the marriage by the husband, but are also capable of other meanings, are regarded as allusive. When express words are used no question can arise as to what was meant, but allusive words require constitution”.[16]

            When a husband pronounces divorce to take effect on the happening of a future event, that divorce is called a Contingent divorce and it becomes effective on the happening of the event. The Shias do not recognise the Implied and the Contingent Talaks. In Hamad Ali v. Imtiazan [AIR 2017 SC 4609], the Allahabad High Court held that “the pronouncement made by the husband constitutes implied divorce, while the wife's going to her father's house constitutes the contingent event, and hence, it amounted to Implied and Contingent divorce”.

Delegated Divorce (Talak-i-Tafweez)

            This is the popular spelling, but Fyzee regards it as wrong and says that it should be spelled as talak-i-tafwid.[17]This form of divorce is recognised both in Sunnis and Shias. The Muslim husband is free to delegate his power of pronouncing divorce to his wife or any person. He may delegate his power of pronouncing divorce to his wife or any person. He may delegate the power, absolutely or conditionally, temporarily or permanently. A permanent delegation of power is revocable, but a temporary delegation of power is not. The delegation must be made distinctly in favour of the person to whom the power is delegated and the purpose of the delegation must be clearly stated.[18]

            Under this form of divorce, though it is the person to whom the power is delegated exercises the power of divorcing; the divorce in the eyes of the law is made by the husband. Thus, when a wife is delegated the power of divorce and in the exercise of that power if she pronounces the divorce, it is presumed that the power is exercised on behalf of the husband who had delegated it to her, and therefore, in law it is a Talak of the wife by the husband.

Constructive Divorce: Ila and Zihar

            Ila and Zihar are two forms of constructive divorce under Muslims. According to Abdul Rahim, the husband's actions have the effect of rejection, but he did not use the words talak or other expressions with the intention of dissolving the marriage. At this point he vows to have nothing to do with his wife and is avoided by her society for four months. The legal effect of such actions is a single irrevocable divorce.[19]This form of divorce is known as the Ila.

            Shafis and Shias believe this does not lead to talak, but simply gives women the right to divorce in judicial terms. According to Ithana Asharis, this form of divorce can only be used after the marriage is complete. According to Tyabji, the Ila does not take placeand will be cancelled,if the husband resumes intercourse with his wife or has retracted from it before the expiry of the period of four months. If the husband assents to Ila after four months, then the cancellation will be valid only if the wife assents to it.[20]

            Zihar is an undeveloped form of divorce. In this form of divorce, the husband shows dissatisfaction with his wife and compares her to his mother, sister, or the back of another woman in a forbidden relationship. In such cases, the woman acquires the right to refuse to live with her husband until he runs penance. If the husband refuses to carry out his repentance, the woman will have the right to divorce under judiciary.[21]

iii.        Divorce at the instance of the Wife

            Several jurists of Muslim law hold the view that under certain circumstances, the wife is also entitled to give divorce to her husband. According to Hadith, “A woman who asks to be divorced from her husband without cause, the fragrance of the Garden is forbidden to her”. The implication is that if there is a cause she can ask for divorce.[22] The Muslim jurists recognised several grounds on which the wife could sue for divorce.

            According to the Indian Muslim law, a Muslim wife can seek divorce under three circumstances.

(i)         When the power of divorce has been delegated to her by the husband, the talak-i-  tafweez,

(ii)        The khul or Khula and

(iii)       The Judicial Divorce.

The Khul Divorce

            The term Khul means “to put off”. When a man or woman puts off his or her garments it is said that he or she has khul them. The FatwaiAlamgiri puts it thus: “When married parties are concerned that they cannot observe the boundaries stipulated by God’s laws and that they cannot fulfil the obligations imposed by the marital relationship, the woman can take into consideration that the husband will give her khula, and if they do this, by doing it, by giving up the property in return, talak-ul-bain takes place”.[23]

            In Buzul-ul-Raheem v. Luteefutton-nissa[1861] 8 MIA 379, the Privy Council held that “A divorce by Khula is a divorce with the consent and at the instance of the wife, in which she gives or agrees to give consideration to the husband for her release from the marriage tie. In such a case the terms of the bargain are a matter of agreement between the husband and wife, and the wife may, as a consideration, release her dyn-mohr and other rights, or make any other agreement for the benefit of the husband”. According to Amir Ali, when a wife desires a divorce, either on account of disgust towards her husband or for any other reason, she may obtain a release from him by giving some consideration therefor, which is usually her mahr, whole or part of it or it may be some other property.[24]

            For giving Khula, the wife must have a sound mind, and must have attained puberty. In Rashid v. Anisa[1931] 59 IA 21,it was held that,“a minor or a person of unsound mind has no capacity to enter into a Khula.The Khula may be entered into by any party or through an agent”.

Under the Hanafi School, the guardian of a minor wife may enter into a Khula on her behalf. In such a case, the guardian has to pay the consideration and not the minor wife. According to Baillie, under the Hanafi School, the guardian of a minor husband cannot enter into a Khula. It appears that under the Shia law, a minor or insane wife cannot enter into a Khula. According to the Shafis, the Khula is a personal right and therefore, wife alone can enter into a Khul on her behalf.[25]

            According to Baillie, in all the Schools ofMuslim law, a proposal for Khula made by the wife may be retracted by her at any time before it has been accepted by the husband. It also stands revoked, if before its acceptance, she raises from the meeting whether the proposal is made. A Khula with an option to the husband to revoke it cannot be validly entered into. According to the Hanafi School of Law, the Khula with an option is valid and operates as an absolute divorce. Under the Shia law, both the Khula and the option are void.[26]

II         Divorce By Mutual Consent Of The Husband And WifeWithout The Intervention Of A Court

            Many Muslim jurists considered the khul and the mubaraa as species of divorce by mutual consent. However, Khula is a divorce to be exercised by the wife. Whereas, in mubaraa, the aversion is mutual and a proposal for divorce may originate from either party. Hence this kind of marriage alone can be called as Divorce by Mutual consent. The word mubaraasignifies the act of freeing each other by mutual consent. According to Fyzee, “In Khula, the wife pleads to be released and the husband agrees by receiving a certain part or whole of the Mahr. While in mubaraa, it appears that both are happy at the prospect of being rid of each other”.[27]         

            All mutual rights and obligations end between the Sunnis when the marriage party enters mubaraa. The Shia law is stringent. It requires that both the parties must bona fide find the marital relationship to be irksome. According to them, the mubaraa is a form of divorce that dissolves a marital bond which both the parties find irksome. No specific form is laid down among the Sunnis,but the Shias insist on a proper form. If the husband had said to his wife, “I have discharged you from the obligation of marriage for such a sum and you are separated from me”, divorce would result.[28]

            Among both the Sunnis and the Shias, the mubaraa is an irrevocable divorce as in the talak-ul-bain. According to Al-Karkhi, “When the husband receives compensation from the wife the divorce is bain and even when it is without compensation and consequently rajai (reversible at the option of the husband), if during the wife’s iddat he has to receive from her compensation, the separation would be equally bain”.[29]

            The other requirements of the mubaraa are the same as that of the khula. Just as in the khula, the wife must undertakeiddat. In both the khula and mubaraa, the divorce is essentially an act of parties and no intervention of the court is required.

III        By A Judicial Decree At The Suit Of The Husband Or Wife

            The third category of the divorce is divorce by a decree of the court. It is called turkaf, means, separation. According to Abdul Rahim, “If a decree of separation be for a cause imputable to the husband, it has, generally speaking, the effect of a Talak. If the decree for separation be for a cause imputable to the wife, then it will have the effect of annulment of marriage”.[30]

            The Koranic verses on judicial divorce run thus: “And if yet fear a breach between the husband and wife, send a judge out of his and another from her family; if they are desirous of agreement, God will effect a reconciliation between them; for God is knowing and appraised of all”. For the practical application of this injunction, the Prophet said: “Let the case be referred to two Muslim arbitrators, free and just, once chosen from the family of each of the parties; and they shall see whether in that particular case reconciliation or separation is desirable; and their decision shall be binding upon them both”.[31]

            According to Amir Ali, “when the husband is guilty of conduct which makes the matrimonial life unbearable to the wife, or when he neglects to perform the duties which the law imposes on him as obligations resulting from marriage or when he fails to fulfil the engagements voluntarily entered into at the time of the matrimonial contract, in all these cases,the wife has the right of preferring a complaint before the Kazi or Judge and demanding a divorce from the court.[32]

In A. Yusuf v. Sowramma,[1971] Ker 261,Justice Krishna Iyer opined that “Muslim law, as applied in India, has taken a course contrary to the spirit of what the Prophet or the Holy Quran laid down and the same misconception vitiates the law dealing with the wife's right to divorce”. In India, the courts follow the doctrines of the Hanafi School of Law and lay down that the woman has no right to divorce.

            Before passing of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939, the Indian Courts granted a decree of divorce only on two grounds, namely, Iian (Mutual imprecation) and Apostasy. Whereas, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939, contains certain fault grounds upon which divorce can be granted. The fault grounds of Divorce also have been retained by this Act. Judicial interpretation has discovered the breakdown-theory of divorce under Muslim law. Now, Muslim women can obtain divorce either on the Fault grounds or Break-down of marriage.

i)                    Fault Grounds of Divorce

            The Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939 as amended by the Act of 1959 applies to the whole of India and to all the Muslims irrespective of the Sect or Schools to which they belong. The Act does not apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir which has its statute enacted in 1942, with slight modifications. Section 2 contains eight fault grounds. Section 4 relates to Apostasy. Section 2 (ix) of the Act saves the existing grounds on which wife may sue for divorce. Under this Act, the right to divorce has been given only to the Muslim wife, and not to the Muslim husband.

The Muslim wife may obtain a decree of divorce on the following grounds.[33]

            (i)         If the whereabouts of the husband are not known for a period of Four years,

            (ii)        The failure of the husband to provide maintenance to the wife for a period of                     Two             years or more,

            (iii)       The husband being sentenced to imprisonment for a period of Seven years  or                     more,

            (iv)       The husband’s failure to perform marital obligations without reasonable cause,

            (v)        Impotency, leprosy and venereal disease of the husband,

            (vi)       Insanity of the husband,

            (vii)      The repudiation of marriage by the wife,

            (viii)     Cruelty of the husband.         

            The Muslim wife may obtain a decree of divorce by filing a suit in the lowest Civil Court. Earlier, under the Shariat Act, 1937, the wife had to file such suits in the District Courts only, which was repealed by this Act.

ii)                  Divorce Through Breakdown of Marriage

            In Umar Bibi v. Mohammad Din[1954] Lah 51,the Lahore High Court held that,“a wife is not entitled to a decree of divorce on the ground of incompatibility of temperaments or her hatred for her husband”. However, in Aboobacker v. Mamu [1971] KTC 633 at 668,Justice, Krishna Iyer said, “Daily trivial differences get dissolved over time and may be treated as the teething troubles of early matrimonial adjustment. While the stream of life, lived in married mutuality, may wash away smaller pebbles, what is to happen if intransigent incompatibility of minds breaks up the flow of the stream? In such a situation, we have a breakdown of the marriage itself and the only course left open is for the law to recognize what is a fact and accord a divorce”.[34]

This decision has given a new look to the texts of Muslim law and also the textual support has been discovered for this view. Interestingly, it is noticeable that earlier, a full Bench of a Pakistani High Court has put across the same theme though more cautiously. In Belqis Fatimmav. Najmul[1959] PLD (WP) Lah 566, the Lahore Court has observed that, “It is only if the judge apprehends that the limits of God will not be observed (which was a laid down in Quran), that is, in their relations to one another, the spouses will not obey God, that a harmonious married state, as envisaged by Islam, will not be possible then he will grant a dissolution”.[35]

            Earlier the same view was expressed by Chief Justice Tyabji in Noerbibiv. Pir Bux, [1950] Sind 8, “There is no merit in preserving intact the connection of marriage when the parties are not able to, and fail to live within the limits of Allah”. He further observed that from the earliest times, Muslim wives have been entitled to divorce when it was clearly shown that, instead of being a reality, a suspension of marriage had occurred, and that the continuance of marriage involved injury to the wife. The learned Chief Justice remarked that when Muslim law allows divorce to the wife on the ground of the husband's non-payment of maintenance, it was not because divorce was by way of punishment of the husband or was a means of enforcing the wife's right of maintenance, but, as an instance, where cessation or suspension of the marriage had occurred. Thus, was laid the foundations of the Breakdown theory of divorce, which is the most modern theory of divorce and was laid exceptionally.[36]

CONCLUSION

The practice of divorce in pre-Islamic Arabia was characterized by a lack of regulation, allowing men to divorce their wives repeatedly, leading to significant distress for women. This practice often resulted in women being trapped in a cycle of divorce and remarriage without any real autonomy.

The Prophet Muhammad sought to reform these practices by establishing clear rules regarding divorce. He emphasized that divorce should not be taken lightly and made it irrevocable after the third pronouncement. This was intended to protect women from arbitrary decisions made by their husbands.The approved forms of Divorce along with the Talak-al-Bida, which includes forms of divorce that are considered disapproved or invalid under Islamic law. These include single irrevocable pronouncements made during periods of purity, which do not follow the prescribed methods of divorce.

The intervening of law and religion in Islamic divorce practices means that the legal framework is heavily influenced by religious teachings. The Prophet's disapproval of divorce as a practice underscores its serious implications for family and societal stability.Despite the reforms, the divorce remains prevalent in modern Muslim societies, indicating a need for ongoing dialogue and potential reform to align practices with the original intent of Islamic teachings.

There must be critical reassessment of divorce laws under Muslim personal law in India, advocating for reforms that would enhance the rights and protections available to women, thereby promoting equality and justice in marital dissolution. It emphasizes that divorce, in any form, should ideally be allowed only through the Court to ensure fairness and legal oversight, thereby protecting the rights of both the parties involved in the marriage.

* Principal, BLDE (Deemed to be University)’s School of Law, Vijayapura, Karnataka.

[1] Asaf A.A. Fyzee, Outlines of Muhammadan Law (4th edn,Oxford University Press) 146.

[2]Ibid.

[3]Ibid.

[4] Sir Dinshaw Fardunji Mulla, Principles of Mahomedan Law (23rd edn, LexisNexis, 2025) 453.

[5]Fyzee, n.2,150.

[6]Ibid.

[7]Dr. Paras Diwan, Muslim Law in Modern India (14thedn, Allahabad Law Agency 2021)82.

[8]Ibid.

[9]Ibid, 83.

[10]Diwan, n.8, 83.

[11]Ibid.

[12]Ibid, 84.

[13]Ibid.

[14]Ibid.

[15]Mulla, n.5, 454.

[16]Diwan, n.8, 85.

[17]Ibid, 86.

[18]Ibid.

[19]Ibid, 87.

[20]Ibid.

[21]Ibid.

[22]Ibid, 92.

[23]Ibid.

[24]Ibid, 93.

[25] Ibid.

[26]Ibid.

[27]Ibid, 91.

[28]Ibid.

[29]Ibid.

[30]Ibid, 94.

[31]Ibid.

[32]Ibid.

[33] M. Hidayatullah and Arshad Hidayatullah, Mulla’s Principles of Mahomedan Law (19th edn,LexisNexis

1990) 267.

[34]Diwan, n.8, 103.

[35]Ibid, 104.

[36]Ibid.