Question. What do say the Realtors, Muslim Scholars in religion Islam that one Muhammad had divorced one time his wife in 2003 .Prior to this she had filed a suit in the competent court for "Khulla" in the meantime the court gave decision in her favor. Now both are feeling shy on this decision and want to become husband and wife again. What is the dictum of "sharia" in his case, as some people say that divorce and Khulla" is completely affected, therefore,"Hallala (Intervening Marriage) would have to be done? Please explain in the light of Quran & Sunnah (Muslim Family Law)??It is to point out that our marriage was solemnized in 1994 and we have three children? Muhammad

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.

If the court that issued the Khul‘ was a civil court (run by man-made laws), then its verdict is not taken into consideration at all (i.e. it is null and void). The final statement of the 2nd Conference for the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Muslim League – held in the period between 4-7 Jumaada Al-'Oula, 1425 AH/ 22-25 June, 2004 AD – reads: "If a man divorced his wife according to the Islamic Sharee'ah, then there is no harm in authenticating the divorce before civil courts, but filing a case in civil courts to terminate the marriage legally does not on its own terminate the marriage contract according to the Islamic Sharee'ah."

A wife is irrevocably divorced and becomes unlawful to her husband until she marries another man only after the third occurrence of divorce. Hence, if the divorce you mentioned was the only occurrence of divorce, then you are entitled to revoke the divorce and take your wife back in marriage. However, you must make a new marriage contract as the ‘Iddah (waiting period) of the revocable divorce has ended. For further benefit, please refer to Fatwa 82541 about the kinds of divorce and Fatwa 88502 underlining that the Khul‘ is considered one irrevocable divorce (with minor separation). This is of course if the Khul‘ verdict was issued by a Muslim judge in the Sharee'ah-court or Islamic center.

Allaah knows best.