Assalamo alaikom, Allah reward you for your effot. My ex-husband divorced me in the sake of marring another woman who met on a chat room. i live in USA and I don't have a job, I'm still a student. I asked him to support me and our daughter until I finish school, he agree to pay for my daughter but he refused to support me. the court make him spend on me until I finish school which in two years. He had to agree with my lawyer so he could he get his divorce and get married to that woman. He get pay $4000.00 a month gross and unwilling he agreed to give me and my daughter $1200.00 a month. My mahr was a ring 0f $ 999.00 and I didn't get any money except that ring and when I tried to sell it, its value woth only $120.00. So far I have been using the money that I was awareded, so my question is this money $1200.00 i am taking are halal for me or is not permissible for me to take them? I don't work, I am hoping inshaa Allah i get my degree and work to spend on me and my daughter? Is what i am doing wrong again the sharia? or is it permissible to use this money until I am done with my school in two years. Jazakoum Allah Khayran

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

We have already issued Fatwa 86603 clarifying the rights of a divorced woman, so please refer to it. So, if your husband divorced you a revocable divorce, then he is obliged to spend on you until your waiting period expires. However, when your waiting period finishes, he is not obliged to spend on you. In this case, if a judge has ruled that your husband must spend on you, then this expenditure is not permissible for you because the ruling of the judge does not make what is forbidden lawful even if the judge was a Muslim. Moreover, your need for money in order to study is not a sound reason for you to take this expenditure.

Besides, if you are the one who is fostering your daughter – as it appears from the question – then it should be noted that it is the father who is obliged to spend on the fostered child according to the view of the majority of the scholars. Similarly, some jurists stated that the one who is obliged to spend on the fostered child is also obliged to pay for the accommodation if the fostering woman does not have an accommodation. Hence, it is permissible for you to take from this money the fees of fostering of your daughter as well as the fees of accommodation if you deserve it (because you have no accommodation).

On the other hand, if you are able to convince this man to take you back, then do so, especially that Allaah blessed you with this daughter who needs to see her parents together and not separated.

Furthermore, if your husband is able to marry a second wife, then he is permitted to do so and if there is a law that prevents marrying two wives at the same time, then this law should not be taken into account since it contradicts the Sharee’ah. Therefore, he may act contrarily to this law and try any trick to evade it as long as this does not cause any harm to both of you.

Finally, it should be noted that if a husband initiates divorce to his wife, then this divorce takes place and it does not need the procedures in the court to be completed.

Allaah Knows best.