At the bottom of this post, we provide several articles to tackle this abhor-able practice of ‘Halala.’ Comment section will also provide useful insights.
The women who sleep with a stranger to save their marriage
Source: BBC
A number of online services are charging “divorced” Muslim women thousands of pounds to take part in “halala” Islamic marriages, a BBC investigation has found. Women pay to marry, have sex with and then divorce a stranger, so they can get back with their first husbands.
Farah – not her real name – met her husband after being introduced to him by a family friend when she was in her 20s. They had children together soon afterwards but then, Farah says, the abuse began.
“The first time he was abusive was over money,” she tells the BBC’s Asian Network and Victoria Derbyshire programme.
“He dragged me by my hair through two rooms and tried to throw me out of the house. There would be times where he would just go crazy.”
Despite the abuse, Farah hoped things would change. Her husband’s behaviour though became increasingly erratic – leading to him “divorcing” her via text message.
“I was at home with the children and he was at work. During a heated discussion he sent me a text saying, ‘talaq, talaq, talaq’.”
“Triple talaq” – where a man says “talaq”, or divorce, to his wife three times in a row – is a practice which some Muslims believe ends an Islamic marriage instantly.
It is banned in most Muslim countries but still happens, though it is impossible to know exactly how many women are “divorced” like this in the UK.
“I had my phone on me,” Farah explains, “and I just passed it over to my dad. He was like, ‘Your marriage is over, you can’t go back to him.'”
Suggested Reading to tackle the abhor-able practice of ‘halala,’ described above
Halala described by Dr. Lutf ur Rehman
Due to the misunderstanding of the sequence and timings of the divorce, some Muslims believe that all three divorces can be given at one time and will be effective. In their mind this results in immediate and final divorce. This concept has its basis in the interpretation of the regulations of divorce by some jurists as well as the temporary action of Hadhrat Omar (ra). Since divorce is usually given in a fit of anger, it is not uncommon for the husband to regret his decision later. Many wish to get back together with their wife again. In the correct interpretation of the regulations of divorce, no matter how many times a husband pronounces divorce it is counted as only one divorce. Period of iddat has to pass before the divorce is final. Since this is only one divorce, the husband has the time to think and weigh his decision. He has the option of taking back the divorce during iddat or do a new nikah with the wife and get back together again if the period of iddat has passed. These days Muslims have adopted the incorrect interpretation and it is common to see that all three divorces are enforced at the same time.
The Holy Quran says that if the husband has divorced his wife for the third time, they both cannot get back together again. The only exception is that after the third divorce, the woman marries someone else. If that husband also divorces the woman then she can marry her first husband again. (Holy Quran, Ch 2, verse 231) This permission of the Holy Quran has become the basis of the repulsive and sinful practice called halala. The Holy Prophet (saw) has condemned this practice and said that those who plan and participate in the scheme of halala are accursed by God. (Abu Dawood)
https://themuslimtimes.info/2017/03/27/divorce/
The conservative scholars of Islam by their concrete and literal understanding of the Quran have made a mockery of the teachings of Islam in front of the whole world. The above article is trending in BBC today and by association making all Muslims a laughing stock.
We have to allow liberal scholars of Islam, to form working committees with secular scholars of law, history and other fields and let them present modern commentaries of the Quran, by voting in their best understanding, rather than sticking with the past traditions and mistakes.
The holy Quran is a dynamic book and changing times require new and dynamic understanding of the social teachings of the holy scripture.
Triple talaq at the same time is not valid and that will take away majority of the need for the so called “halala,” The couples involved in such issues do not need to consult any so called scholars. Take it from me they can just go back to their married life and Allah will not hold them accountable on this issue, or I will pay from my account in the hereafter; God willing.
In case of genuine talaq if the parties want to get back desperately, then I believe that they should be allowed to do so and this is where liberal scholars of Islam will come to our rescue. An established body of them could interpret the relevant verses of the Quran, meant to discourage Talaq, by imposing a waiting period of one or two years for such marriage to reoccur so that the Quranic teaching is honored and implemented and yet no woman is desperate to go through the abhorrent practice of ‘halala.’
Such a body should be called, “Liberal Assembly of the Muslim Jurists for Modern Understanding of Islam,” which should be promoted and would become popular by its good works.
There is no Halala in Islam. This practice has been condemned by the Holy Prophet.
The reason for Halala is “Shirk” by the Muslims. They consider their religious leaders infallible. Of course all human beings make mistakes including the Prophets, Khulafa and all other religious leaders. Only God is infallible. Due to this Shirk, the Muslims have not been able to understand their religion. Halala is a sad example of this. A person of Hazrat Omar’s stature, a rashid khalifa, permitted to enforce all three divorces at the same time, against the clear instructions of the Holy Quran and against the practice of the Holy Prophet. The Muslims, committing shirk, did not over rule him. The result is that for the last 1400 years Muslim women are being subjected to the shameful practice of Halala. Unless Muslims give up shirk and start questioning their religious leaders, nothing will change.
There was a story in an Egyptian Newspaper that a rich Egyptian divorced his beautiful young wife after some heated argument. He then ‘ordered’ one of his staff to marry and divorce her. Both the young lady and the employee however refused to divorce … bad luck.