Divorcing wife ‘fraction’ of divorce

12-6-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Can a person give one divorce in fractions, like, for example, by giving one divorce and half of a second divorce? My understanding is that you give one, two, or three divorces and there is no such thing as half a divorce. Please answer.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It a man says to his wife: you are divorced half a divorce, or one third of a divorce, or a quarter of a divorce, and so on, then,  according to the view of most scholars, one complete divorce takes place.

Ibn Qudaamah said:

“If a husband divorces his wife half a divorce, or part of a divorce, even if it is a small part, then it is one complete divorce that takes place according to the view of most scholars, with the exception of Daawood, who said, ‘The wife is not divorced by this.’ Ibn Al-Munthir said, ‘All the scholars that we know of agreed in a consensus that she is divorced by this, among whom was Ash-Sha’bi, Al-Haarith Al-‘Ukli, Az-Zuhri, Qataadah, Ash-Shaafi’i, the scholars of the Hanafi School, and Abu ‘Ubayd. Abu ‘Ubayd said, ‘It is the view of Maalik, the people of Hijaaz, Ath-Thawri, and the people of Iraq. This is because mentioning a part of something that cannot be divided into parts, is mentioning its totality, like if one says: Half of you is divorced.’” 

From your previous questions, it is clear to us that you are affected with Waswaas (obsessive whisperings) about the matter of divorce, and asking many questions about it enhances these whispers in your heart. This has bad consequences, so you should be careful about this, and it is better for you to be concerned about what benefits you in your religion and your worldly matters.

Allah knows best.