As Salam mualaikum warah mathullah wa barakatuhu dear brothers. I wanted to ask you about a very serious situation. My cousin divorced my sister. first of all; before he hit her he said, he is tired of her, and wants to divorce her; then proceeded to hit her. (To the nearest translation) Then he sent a talak notice via text message. He sent the text messages to 4 people, including me, my father, uncle, my cousin. In the text message he states that if his wife (my sister) does not come within 10 days then she will be divorced from him. The 10 days went by but my sister did not go. The people close to him and his parents at the time told us he meant to give full proper talak there and then but his father persuaded him to give 10 days notice. Another cousin of mine informed me that, he is not listening to reason and his talak is final. My sister was pregnant at the time, did not go, thus the 10 days time ran out. then a few weeks later he sent another text, after my sister had opened up a facebook account, and this time he said that, "our second talak has happened now because you opened a facebook account. I told you not to, but you did so you are responsible for this talak." (To the nearest translation). Then a few months later he sent a text to me in which he said he doesn't want my sister and his kids, and he is happy to be rid of them, he mentioned that they are from an inferior or dirty race. My sister gave birth a few months later. What we want to know is, is she divorced from this man? This person is now denying that he gave full proper talak, but we have all the evidence. I was wandering if you can provide me with a fatwa so we can get closure in this matter. Many thanks, and sorry to trouble you. jazakALLAH khair.

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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Firstly, it is better in such cases to refer the matter to the concerned authorities responsible for handling the affairs of Muslims such as Islamic Centers, or to consult reliable scholars, competent for issuing Fatwa, directly because the matter requires investigation, especially as far as the husband is concerned, in order to clarify what actually happened.

In general, we would like to highlight the following points:

1. Writing the words of divorce is an indirect pronouncement of divorce; divorce does not take effect by it unless it is accompanied by the husband's intention to divorce. Please refer to Fataawa 174947 and 89894.

2. A conditional divorce takes effect when the condition is met as underlined in Fatwa 90318.

3. When the husband says to his wife, "I am going to divorce you," it is considered a promise of divorce and it is not considered a divorce. Divorce does not take effect in this case unless the husband intends it. Please refer to Fatwa 92383.

4. When the husband divorces his pregnant wife, the divorce is in accordance with the Sunnah and it takes effect. Please refer to Fatwa 82929.

We do not understand what is exactly meant by "full and proper" divorce; you should know that once the husband pronounces the words of divorce while intending it of his free will and without any coercion or duress, divorce takes effect. For further information, please refer to Fatwa 82541 about the kinds of divorce.

Allaah Knows best.