Woman Between Islam and Western Society
8. Concerning Divorce
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this show no human leniency, the only alternative
left for such incompatible couples is either to
commit suicide, or waste away the whole of their
lives in the “darkest despair.” Even when one dares
to surmount the hurdle of divorce, it is very difficult
to get remarried in societies where divorcees are
looked down upon. One can at best marry someone
beneath one’s social status. But in Islam remarriage
is not a taboo: the Prophet himself married a
widow. The provisions of Islam are thus a great
blessing to couples who realize only too late that
they have erred in making their choice of a partner.
Islam provides for them to separate amicably, in a
spirit of goodwill.
Just think of couples wasting away the whole of
their lives in mental torment only because the
conditions of separation and its consequences are
hard to meet. It is as unnatural as anything can be.
Islam is a natural religion. Such a situation has not
developed in Muslim communities because Islamic
law on marriage and divorce provides for all, or
almost all, eventualities. For example, when a
woman wishes to divorce her husband, she has to
