Question:

A woman has divorced her husband in American court, and her husband too has singed the divorce papers. Is it valid divorce can she marry another person? Or she has to divorce according to Islamic Law to get married to another person? Please reply as soon as possible. 

Fatwa:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, a Muslim should know that it is not permissible to be judged by man-made laws and it is an obligation to be judged by the Law of Allah. Allah says (which means): {Do they then seek the judgement of (the days of) Ignorance? And who is better in judgement than Allah for a people who have firm Faith} [Quran 5:50].

If a Muslim is found in a country where there are no Islamic courts and he wants to resort to the law, he is obliged to resort to the Islamic centres or any other Islamic body or institution.

Secondly, it should be known that divorce is in the hands of the husband, and it is his right. He is the one who can divorce his wife if he so wishes. If it is confirmed that this man signed divorce papers, it is the same as writing the word divorce itself. By writing the word divorce, divorce takes place if the husband intended it. So if this man had signed divorce papers while intending divorce, then divorce has taken place. However, his wife is not allowed to marry another person until her waiting period ends, because during the waiting period, she is still considered as his wife.

Nonetheless, if he signed these divorce papers without having any intention for divorce, then divorce did not take place, and she is still his wife, so it is not permissible for her to marry another man. This is of course in case he did not utter the word divorce when signing the papers, because - as we learnt from some trustworthy brothers -  the husband is not forced by the judge to sign and thus if he utters and signs, then he admits divorce, and thus divorce does take effect by him uttering it.

Finally, it should be noted that it is not permissible for a woman to ask for divorce without a sound religious reason as it is confirmed that the Prophet said: "The smell of Paradise is forbidden for any woman who asks her husband to divorce her without a valid (Islamic) excuse."  [Abu Daawood]

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb