Hamba Allah

Hadith Imam Malik About Divorce

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.1

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a man said to Abdullah ibn Abbas, "I have divorced my wife by saying I divorce you a hundred times. What do you think my situation is?" Ibn Abbas said to him, "She was divorced from you by three pronouncements, and by the ninety-seven, you have mocked the ayat of Allah."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.2

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a man came to Abdullah ibn Masud and said, "I have divorced my wife by saying I divorce you eight times." Ibn Masud said to him, "What have people told you?" He replied, "I have been told that I have to part absolutely from her." Ibn Masud said, "They have spoken the truth. A person who divorces as Allah has commanded, Allah makes it clear for him, and a person who obscures himself in error, we make stay by his error. So do not confuse yourselves and pull us into your confusion. It is as they have said."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.3

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from Abu Bakr ibn Hazm thatUmar ibn Abd al-Aziz had asked him what people said about the 'irrevocable' divorce, and Abu Bakr had replied that Aban ibn Uthman had clarified that it was declared only once. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz said, "Even if divorce had to be declared a thousand times, the'irrevocable' would use them all up. A person who says, 'irrevocably' has cast the furthest limit."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.4

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that Marwan ibn al-Hakam decided that if someone made three pronouncements of divorce, he had divorced his wife irrevocably.

Malik said, "That is what I like best of what I have heard on the subject."

29.2 Divorce by Euphemistic Statements

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.5

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab had heard in a letter from Iraq that a man said to his wife, "Your rein is on your withers (i.e. you have free rein)." Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to his governor to order the man to come to him at Makka at the time of hajj. While Umar was doing tawaf around the House, a man met him and greeted him. Umar asked him who he was, and he replied that he was the man that he had ordered to be brought to him. Umar said to him, "I ask you by the Lord of this building, what did you mean by your statement, 'Your rein is on your withers.'?" The man replied, "Had you made me swear by other than this place, I would not have told you the truth. I intended separation by that." Umar ibn al- Khattab said, "It is what you intended."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.6

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Ali ibn Abi Talib used to say that if a man said to his wife, "You are haram for me," it counted as three pronouncements of divorce.

Malik said, "That is the best of what I have heard on the subject."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.7

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said that statements like "I cut myself off from you",or"You are abandoned", were considered as three pronouncements of divorce.

Malik said that any strong statements such as these or others were considered as three pronouncements of divorce for a woman whose marriage had been consummated. In the case of a woman whose marriage had not been consummated, the man was asked to make an oath on his deen, as to whether he had intended one or three pronouncements of divorce. If he had intended one pronouncement, he was asked to make an oath by Allah to confirm it, and he became a suitor among other suitors, because a woman whose marriage had been consummated, required three pronouncements of divorce to make her inaccessible for the husband, whilst only one pronouncement was needed to make a woman whose marriage had not been consummated inaccessible.

Malik added, "That is the best of what I have heard about the matter."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.8

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad that a certain man had taken a slave-girl belonging to somebody else as a wife. He said to her people, "She is your concern," and people considered that to be one pronouncement of divorce.

Book 29 : Hadith 29.1.9

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard Ibn Shihab say that if a man said to his wife, "You are free of me, and I am free of you, " it counted as three pronouncements of divorce as if it were an 'irrevocable' divorce.

Malik said that if a man made any strong statement such as these to his wife, it counted as three pronouncements of divorce for a woman whose marriage had been consummated, or it was written as one of three for a woman whose marriage had not been consummated, whichever the man wished. If he said he intended only one divorce he swore to it and he became one of the suitors because, whereas a woman whose marriage had been consummated was made inaccessible by three pronouncements of divorce, the woman whose marriage had not been consummated was made inaccessible by only one pronouncement.

Malik said, "That is the best of what I have heard."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.2.10

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that a man came to Abdullah ibn Umar, and said, "Abu Abd ar-Rahman! I placed the command of my wife in her hand, and she divorced herself, what do you think?" Abdullah ibn Umar said, "I think that it is as she said." The man said, "Don't do it, Abu Abd ar-Rahman!" Ibn Umar said, "You did it, it has nothing to do with me."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.2.11

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "When a man gives a woman command over herself, then the result is as she decides unless he denies it and says that he only meant to give her one divorce and he swears to it - then he has access to her while she is in her idda."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.3.12

Yahya related to me from Malik from Said ibn Sulayman ibn Zayd ibn Thabit that Kharija ibn Zayd ibn Thabit told him that he was sitting with Zayd ibn Thabit when Muhammad ibn Abi Atiq came to him with his eyes brimming with tears. Zayd asked him what the matter was. He said, "I gave my wife command of herself, and she separated from me." Zayd said to him, "What made you do that?" He said, "The Decree." Zayd said, "Return to her if you wish for it is only one pronouncement, and you have access to her."

Book 29 : Hadith 29.3.13

Yahya related to me from Malik from Abd ar-Rahman ibn al-Qasim from his father that a man of Thaqif gave his wife command over herself, and she said, "You are divorced." He was silent. She said, "You are divorced." He said, "May a stone be in your mouth." She said, "You are divorced." He said, "May a stone be in your mouth." They argued and went to Marwan ibn al-Hakam. He took an oath that he had only given her control over one pronouncement, and then she returned to him.

Malik said that Abd ar-Rahman declared that this decision had amazed al-Qasim, who thought it the best that he had heard on the subject.

Malik added, "That is also the best of what I have heard on the subject."