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Fatwa CenterCase of triple divorce in one statement
Question
Once, my husband divorced me, then, the same night, we slept together like husband and wife. The very next morning, he send me to my brother's home. After more then a month, he sent me a text message saying, "I divorced you, I divorced you, I divorced you." However, I did not read those messages until 10 days later. He send me voice messages saying, "I divorced you 3 times." He sent that same message to my mother, my brother, and my aunt. What do you say about his way of divorcing me? Also, is this a final divorce or not? When he sent me to my brother's home, he promised me that he would call me back soon. He also put his hand on the Quran when he said that. Tell me, Brother, what I can do now? He and his parents kept my three-year-old son away from me, and they do not let me see him; it has been more then a year. Please advise me; I am totally helpless and hopeless. He divorced me at his dad's request.
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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Divorce should be the last resort after trying all the possible means to resolve marital problems, one of which is trying to reach a mutual agreement and understanding on the matter and do what serves the best interests of their family. Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {And do not forget graciousness between you.} [Quran 2:237] Another means is seeking the help and mediation of wise relatives from the spouses' families if needed. If these means proved to be ineffective and it becomes impossible to maintain marital ties, then it is better to opt for divorce.
Pronouncing three divorces in a single statement is denounced. It is impermissible for the husband to issue a triple divorce; it is a form of innovative divorce (a Bid‘i [innovative] divorce that does not conform to the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in terms of the number of the divorces pronounced). Please, refer to fataawa 85415 and 82330. Scholars held different views as to whether the triple divorce counts as one or three occurrences of divorce. Please, refer to fatwa 94110 about the different scholarly views on the triple divorce.
It is possible that the wife has been divorced with an irrevocable divorce of a major degree, in which the husband cannot re-marry his ex-wife unless she, after having married and consummated marriage with her new husband, is divorced for some reason and is willing to remarry her ex-husband. Therefore, it is better to consult with the Islamic center in your country or a reliable local scholar directly to investigate the matter thoroughly; they may need to ask your husband about certain matters in order to clarify the religious ruling in this regard.
Custody over children is granted to the mother after divorce as long as she does not remarry or there is a religious impediment that prevents her from taking their custody, like being immoral or the like, as previously explained in fataawa 84618 and 86891.
Whether the mother is granted custody over the children or not, it is impermissible to prevent her from seeing her child. Verily, this is a serious act of injustice. Since there is a dispute between the spouses over the custody, it is better to refer the case to an Islamic center to settle the dispute. It is wise to keep the child away from the problem and protect him from being a victim of it.
Allaah knows best.
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