Woman Between Islam and Western Society
8. Concerning Divorce
~ 422 ~
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 part of the
Caliph. He was entitled to punish in any manner he
thought fitting, anyone who digressed from the
shari’ah.
This right possessed by the ruler of the time
is clearly established in the
shari’ah.
Many other
instances, not necessarily relating to personal
disputes, can be cited of his exercise of this right.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it becomes clear that the
shari’ah’
s prescribed method of divorce entails the
pronouncing of the word
talaq
at intervals of one
month over a three-month’s period, the third
pronouncement making the divorce final. However,
just as there are always cases of abuse of the law,
there are always cases of divorce carried out by the
improper method of uttering the word
talaq
three
times on the one occasion.
