Concerning Divorce
Two Ways of Divorcing
~ 26 ~
All these preventive measures clearly allow frayed
tempers to cool, so that the divorce proceedings
need not reach a stage that is irreversible. Divorce,
after all, has no saving graces, particularly in
respect of its consequences. It simply amounts to
ridding oneself of one set of problems only to
become embroiled in another set of problems.
Despite all such preventive measures, it does
sometimes happen that a man acts in ignorance, or
is rendered incapable of thinking coolly by a fit of
anger. Then on a single occasion, in a burst of
temper, he utters the word “divorce” three times in
a row,
“talaq, talaq, talaq!”
Such incidents, which
took place in the Prophet’s lifetime, still take place
even today. Now the question arises as to how the
would-be divorcer should be treated. Should his
three utterances of
talaq
be treated as only one, and
should he then be asked to extend his decision over
a three-month period? Or should his three
utterances of
talaq
on a single occasion be equated
with the three utterances of
talaq
made separately
over a three-month period? There is a
hadith
recorded by Imam Abu Dawud and several other
traditionists which can give us guidance in this
