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Fatwa CenterHer husband gave her the right to divorce herself from him
Question
Aoa, i married a man in 2001 and in the nikah, i was given the right of divorce. after about 5 years, situation was not good so i asked my husband that i divorce u, do u accept it, he said yes and v repeated the same process for 3 times after every one month. during that time, v were in touch thru messages etc, but v did not have intercourse, as v were not able to live together due to various socail reasons. now my ex husband is married again to someone, i want to know am i free to marry anyone else or the divorce has to come from my husband's side. he did not give me any mehar etc. if i want to go back to my husband again, do i need to have a nikah with him again or can i go to him without it? do i need a halala? plz guide me.
Answer
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.
According to the view of the majority of the scholars 
it is not permissible for a husband to give his wife the right to divorce herself [from him] when conducting the marriage contract. Hence, giving you the right to divorce yourself is void. In principle, divorce is in the hands of the husband and no one else can initiate it. Besides, it is not permissible for a wife to ask for divorce without a sound reason as we discussed in Fatwa 88408.
As regards the answer of your husband to you by saying ‘yes’ when you asked him ‘Do you accept divorce’ then it appears – Allaah Knows best – that this wording is not a clear expression of divorce and divorce does not take place unless your husband intended it. Even though the word ‘yes’ is clear as an answer but it is an answer to something that is not clear. It is for this reason that the jurists stated that it [the word yes] makes divorce effective if it is an answer to a clear expression. Ibn Qudaamah 
said: “If a husband was asked: “Did you divorce your wife?” and he answered: ‘yes’ or it was said to him: “Is your wife divorced?” and he answered ‘yes’, then his wife is divorced even if he did not intend it. This is the most correct opinion of the Shaafi’i School of jurisprudence and the chosen opinion by Al-Muzani because the word yes is a clear answer, and a clear answer for a clear statement is clear (a clear statement).” For more benefit on the kinds of divorce, please refer to Fatwa 82541.
It should be noted that one should avoid being careless about the matter of divorce and uttering it, especially at the beginning of the marital life. Also, one should avoid making divorce as a solution to marital problems.
Allaah Knows best.
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