Nowadays Muslim Personal Law is being subjected to scorn and derision of sorts. One major reason for this disquieting situation is that a large chunk of Muslim masses fails rather miserably to act upon the Shari’ah in the various spheres of life. This may be the result of their ignorance or due to the influence of un-Islamic customs and traditions or the spell of enticements of Satan. Whatsoever the reason, the Qur’ān warns the Muslims against falling prey to such influences, enticements and spurrings. This is why the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has launched a 15-day countrywide Muslim Personal Law Awareness Campaign, from 23 April to 7 May 2017, with a view to acquaint the Muslim masses with the family laws of Shari’ah.
Muslim Personal Laws consist of the family laws of Shari’ah dealing with Nikah (Marriage), Talaq (Divorce) and Wirasat (Inheritance), etc. As for talaq, we must realise the wisdom behind this provision of Islam. As Islam is Deen-e-Fitrat, a system ordained by Allah the Creator, Who knows perfectly well the whims and inconsistencies of man, it prescribes divorce to be applied if and when some irreconcilable conflict occurs between husband and wife.
Talaq is the most hated act among the permissible things. If the conflict occurs and all pre-divorce gradual measures like making the wife amend her ways, separating her bed and allowing the intervention of seniors from both the sides fail to reconcile the issue, the husband can pronounce talaq once while the wife is in menstrual purity. If reconciliation takes place, he can revoke his divorce and live together with his wife peacefully; if not, separation will take place and both man and woman can start their life afresh independently. But if reconciliation takes place and conflict occurs once again sometime later, the husband can exercise his right to divorce once again. This divorce is also revocable. But if the conflict occurs for the third time, and he divorces his wife, this divorce will be final and non-revocable. Giving three talaqs in one go is against the spirit of the Qur’ān.
These are the limits set by the Qur’ān and the Muslims must obey them. If a Muslim acts in disobedience to the commandments of Allah, the Qur’ān (5:44, 45 and 47) calls it kufr (denial of the Truth), zulm (oppression) and fisq (depart from the obedience of Allah). May Allah give us the Taufeeque to obey the commandments of Allah in all spheres of life!