Continuing to receive benefits meant for married people after divorce
9-9-2017 | IslamWeb
Question:
Dear Mufti. My parents are divorced. However, when my parents were still married, they got a membership to a club, and this membership lasts a lifetime for each individual person in the family. So my question is: can my mother continue using this membership since at the time of getting the membership, they were married, and it is for a lifetime. She does not want to tell the club about her divorce since is is embarrassing to make it public to everyone in the world. Please say 'yes'; she is an old lady, and her only entertainment is to go to club to stay busy, and otherwise she becomes severely depressed, and there is no other person to take care of her. My father, however, continues to pay all the bills as she has no problem with that. They also live in one home with my brother, who is married, but they have completely separate lives and stay very far from each other.
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, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The parties of a contract are obliged to abide by the terms and conditions stipulated in the contract. Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {O you who have believed, fulfill (all) contracts.} [Quran 5:1]
The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "Muslims are bound by their conditions except for a condition that makes the lawful unlawful or the unlawful lawful." [At-Tirmithi: Hasan-Saheeh (good or sound)]
Hence, the reference regarding what you asked about is the contract between your father and the club and the terms that are stipulated in it. If the contract does not stipulate the continuity of the marriage bond in order to retain the membership, then there is no harm on your mother in benefiting from the club membership after her divorce.
Therefore, you need to read the contract and its terms and ask the administration of the club in order to know the situation. You are not required to inform them of your mother's divorce, as you can ask a general question without mentioning the names of the divorced couple.
The health condition of your mother, which you mentioned, does not make it permissible for her to benefit from the club if she has no right to that according to the contract and its terms.
It should be noted that the divorce renders your mother a non-Mahram (alien) woman to your father if it is irrevocable and the same thing applies if it was revocable but the ‘Iddah (waiting period) has expired. It is impermissible for him to stay alone with her or mix with her in a prohibited manner. For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 96286.
Allah knows best.