Concerning Divorce
Two Ways of Divorcing
~ 31 ~
based on three utterances of the word
talaq
on a
single occasion should remember that his verdict
will remain unenforceable for the simple reason
that he does not have the powers that ‘Umar, as
Caliph, possessed. ‘Umar’s verdict was that of a
powerful ruler of the time and not just that of a
common man. It is necessary at this point to clear
certain misunderstandings which have arisen about
the extent of agreement which existed on ‘Umar’s
ruling. Of all the Prophet’s Companions who were
present at Medina at that time, perhaps the only one
to disagree was ‘Ali. As a result of this, certain
‘ulama
have come to the conclusion that the
Prophet’s followers
(Sahabah)
had reached a
consensus
(‘ijma)
on this matter.
18
But the consensus reached was not on the general
issue of divorce, but on the right of Muslim rulers to
make temporary and exceptional rulings, as had
been done by ‘Umar. It is obvious that the
Companions of the Prophet could never have
agreed to annul a Qur’anic injunction or to modify
for all time to come a prescribed system of divorce.
All that was agreed upon was that exceptional
circumstances warranted exceptional rulings on the
