Divorce in Islam: Talaq, Khul’, Iddah and Rights

Divorce is permitted in Islam but treated as the most disliked of permitted things. It exists as a way out of an impossible situation, not as an ordinary way to settle an argument.

Updated 2026-09-11

In short

• Talaq — divorce initiated by the husband
• Khul' — divorce at the wife's request, returning the mahr
• Faskh — dissolution by a judge on valid grounds
• Iddah — the wife's waiting period, usually three cycles
• Return — possible after the first and second talaq, not the third
• Mahr — kept in full by the wife after consummation
• Children — maintenance remains the father's obligation

Is divorce permitted

Yes, but it is strongly discouraged. A well-known report describes it as

the most disliked of the things that are permitted.

That means divorce is not sinful in itself, yet it should not be the first

response to disagreement. The Quran instructs an attempt at reconciliation

first: an arbiter from his family and one from hers, so that they may try

to settle the matter.

Divorce should not be threatened in an argument, and the formula should not

be pronounced in anger.

Talaq: divorce by the husband

Talaq is pronounced by the husband and takes effect when spoken.

The manner recognised as correct is this: the divorce is pronounced once,

during a period of purity in which there has been no intimacy. The waiting

period then begins.

The first and second talaq are revocable. During the iddah the husband

may take his wife back without a new contract. Once the iddah has ended,

return is possible only through a new nikah with a new mahr.

The third talaq is final. After it the couple cannot return to one

another unless she genuinely marries another man and that marriage ends of

its own accord.

The practice of pronouncing the formula three times in one sitting is judged

differently by different schools: some count it as three divorces, others as

one. The question is serious and belongs with an imam, not with a private

decision.

Khul': divorce at the wife's request

If a wife cannot continue in the marriage she may seek dissolution by

returning the mahr or part of it. This is called khul'.

The grounds may be anything that makes life together unbearable: aversion,

ill-treatment, a husband failing his obligations. She is not required to

prove fault on his part.

Khul' is a final dissolution: return is possible only through a new contract.

Faskh: dissolution by a judge

Where the husband refuses to divorce and the grounds are serious, the

marriage is dissolved by a judge or an authorised figure in the community.

The grounds usually cited: prolonged absence without news, inability to

maintain the family, ill-treatment, a serious illness concealed at the

contract, prolonged abandonment of marital obligations.

Iddah: the waiting period

After divorce a woman observes a waiting period before she may remarry.

• Ordinary case: three menstrual cycles
• If she does not menstruate: three lunar months
• If pregnant: until the child is born
• Widowhood: four months and ten days
• If the marriage was not consummated: no iddah

The purpose is to establish that she is not pregnant and to give both sides

time to reconsider. During the iddah, in a revocable divorce, the couple may

still return to one another.

Throughout the iddah the wife remains in the marital home and her

maintenance is his responsibility.

What happens to the mahr

After consummation the wife keeps the mahr in full, whoever initiated the

divorce.

If the marriage was not consummated and the husband divorces her, half of

the named mahr is due.

In khul' she usually returns the mahr or part of it — that return is the

condition of the dissolution.

Any deferred portion becomes payable immediately on divorce.

Children

Maintenance of the children remains the father's obligation regardless of

whom they live with.

Young children usually stay with the mother, provided she has not remarried

and is able to care for them. From a certain age, defined differently across

the schools, the child may choose.

The other parent's right to contact remains. Obstructing it is not approved.

Before divorcing

• attempt reconciliation, including through arbiters from both families
• speak to an imam or a knowledgeable person rather than deciding alone
• do not pronounce the formula in anger or use divorce as a threat
• record property arrangements in writing
• if the marriage was civilly registered, dissolve that too

What next

If you are after a divorce or widowhood and looking again, our

catalogue states marital status on every profile, and

the filters let you search among those in a similar position.

On the conditions of marriage see what is nikah; on the marriage

gift, the article on mahr.

Divorce touches property, children and legal consequences. Take your own situation to an imam and, where the marriage was civilly registered, to a lawyer. This article gives a general picture, not a ruling on a particular case.