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Introduction of Islam
The Divorce in Islam

The Divorce

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Islam recognizes the necessity of divorce if the marriage fails to achieve its objectives. According to Islam, marriage becomes meaningless if hatred between the husband and the wife takes the place of love. It is quite unnatural to keep husband and wife together, when they don't want to live together at any cost. The societies which do not allow divorce, it result into more bigger crime as either husband kill his wife or vice versa.

Islam gives the husband the right to divorce his wife and at the same time recognizes the wife's right to claim for divorce from courts of justice. Divorce should be the last resort after all attempts of reconciliation between the husband and the wife fail. In Islam, divorce is the most hateful permitted thing. 

After the divorce the woman will go under waiting period during which he cannot marry to other man. Normally the waiting period is counted as three menses period, if she has some problem then it is counted equivalently. But if the woman is pregnant then this waiting period will be till the delivery of the baby. 

And divorce women shall wait for three menstrual periods, and it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs........ (Quran 2:228)

After divorce, it not allowed for man to take any thing which he has given to his wife as gift.

.... And it is not lawful for you to take back any of your gifts which you have given them....(Quran 2:229)

Reconciliation attempts before the Divorce

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Islam discourages divorce and describes it as the most hateful permitted thing. In fact, a pious man hesitates to divorce his wife and does his best not do so. 

Divorce is a big blow to the husband and the wife and to their plans and expectations. Divorce also destroys the life of children. Divorce undermines the peace and happiness of the whole family. Therefore, Islam have given chance to re-think even after the divorce. But at same it has not given an open opportunity to play with the law.

Divorce in Islam should not occur except after exhausting all means to reconciling the dispute between the husband and the wife. The husband must choose a judge whom he trusts and the wife must choose a judge whom she trusts. These two judges do their best to overcome the sources of the wife-husband dispute in order to bring harmony back to the husband and his wife. If these judges fail, only then divorce may come. 

Probable Reasons for Divorce

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The reason for divorce may be that the husband is impotent or that either the husband or the wife is seriously diseased and thus cannot exercise sexual relations. The reason for divorce may also be the imprisonment of the husband forever or for a long period of time or the absence of the husband with no news of him or his inability to provide maintenance for his wife. Divorce may be caused by the misconduct or the bad temper of either the husband or the wife.

Reconciliation After the Divorce

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Islam is a very practical religion and it provides the best rule of law to suite a society.  Some time the husband and wife do not realize the after effects of the divorce in their life. Most of the men realize the importance of their wife after the divorce and same thing is true with the women. So Islam provide a chance to reconcile even after the divorce. 

In Islam after the first divorce, if both husband and wife want to join again they can do so simply,  provided they feel that they can keep the limits ordained by Allah. 

The husband is advised not to expel his wife from his house after divorce and keep her in his house for the waiting period in order to give both sides more reasons for remarrying each other. Islam also encourages both sides to remarry each other during and after the waiting period.

.... And their husband have the better right to take them back in that period, if they wish for reconciliation .....  (Quran 2:228)

If the divorce happened again, second time and now they want to join then they have to make fresh marriage contract  provided they feel that they can keep the limits ordained by Allah.

The divorce is twice after that either you retain her on reasonable terms or release here with kindness. ....(Quran 2:229)

And when you have divorced women and they have fulfilled the terms of their prescribed period, do not prevent them from marrying their (former) husband, if they mutually agree on reasonable basis. ...... (Quran 2:232)

If the divorce happened again, third time then they cannot re-marry simply. The only chance to re-marry is that  the women is married to some other man and he has divorced her, but this should has happened in natural way not in planned way.

And if he has divorced her (third time), then she is not lawful unto him thereafter until she has married another husband. Then if the other husband divorces her, it is no sin on both of them that they re-unit, provided they feel that they can keep the limits ordained by Allah. ..... (Quran 2:230)

Islam gives the two sides the chance to remarry each other after the first divorce and after the second divorce. This shows the fact that Islam emphasizes marriage and marriage continuity for the sake of the psychological health of all the family members including children. The reason why the third divorce is irrevocable is simple. Islam gives the husband and the wife two chances of revocable divorce. This in fact means that their marriage failed and they divorced for the first time. Then they remarried each other and divorced for the second time. Then they remarried each other and divorced for the third time. After this third divorce, the implication is that this husband and his wife could not live together any more. Further, the institution of marriage and the license of divorce are not there for fun.