Marriage Contract

• In the Islamic religion, prenuptial agreements have been practiced for centuries. Marriage is not considered a sacrosanct act, but a legal agreement in which each partner is allowed to outline stipulations of the marriage to be put forth in the contract. The first act of the marriage ceremony (nikah) is to sign the contract. This contract becomes important in cases of divorce, just as a prenuptial agreement is when a marriage is dissolved today.
  
  

Islamic View of Divorce

• Like most religions, Islam considers divorce undesirable and only to be performed as a very last resort. From the Qur'an, "Among lawful things, divorce is most disliked by Allah." However, it is recognized that sometimes divorce is necessary and so the Qur'an says, "And if you fear that the two [husband and wife] may not be able to keep the limits ordered by Allah, there is no blame on either of them if she redeems herself [from the marriage tie]." (2:229).
  
  

Conditions of Divorce

• Divorce is acceptable if there is a hopeless failure by one or both parties to fulfill the marriage duties as stated by the rules of Islam and/or to fulfill stipulations of the marriage contract. Some of the acceptable grounds for divorce are long absence of husband without information, impotence, long imprisonment and refusal to provide for his wife. Other stipulations include insanity, disease, deceptive misrepresentation and desertion.
  
  

Divorce Procedure

• The husband is allowed to "divorce" his wife up to three times. It's easier to think of this as a separation period rather than divorce. After each declaration of "divorce" there must be a waiting period of at least three months (this is measured by the wife's menstruation cycle). The declaration must be made during a time when the woman is not menstruating. The logic behind this waiting period is in part to make sure that the wife is not pregnant, which may change the nature of the relationship. During the trial period both husband and wife stay in the same home, but use separate bedrooms. If there is reconciliation, there is no divorce. If there is no reconciliation, two witnesses will bear that the divorce is final.
  
  

After the Divorce

• In the event that a divorce is finalized, the woman is "returned to her family" and automatically has custody of the children. But, it is the husband's responsibility to continue to provide for the children while they are in their mother's custody. A woman must wait at least three months before she is married to another man (to ensure she is not pregnant from her last husband)--if pregnant, she must wait the full term of the pregnancy to marry another man.