Abu Dhabi legal expert explains the three divorce rule

ABU DHABI // A legal expert from the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has clarified Sharia rules on divorce after a case last week where a couple sought to divorce for the third time.

Muna Al Raeesi, head of legal aid at ADJD, said that when a husband and wife divorced for the first time, there was a waiting period known as “idda”, which is designed to give the couple time to reconcile without finalising the divorce procedure.

The waiting period lasts for three of the wife’s menstrual cycles to ensure she is not pregnant.

If she is pregnant, it lasts until the child is born.

If the couple decide to reconcile during “idda” then the marriage contract is restated.

During “idda” the woman is not allowed to marry another man.

When seeking a second divorce, or “baynoona sughra”, a new contract is required along with a dowry if the couple decide to reconcile.

A third divorce, or “baynoona kubra”, is considered final.

The exception to this rule is if the woman marries another man and that marriage ends, either by divorce or his death, at which point she is permitted to return to her former husband and can then – if desired – go through the three divorce procedures again.

Ms Al Raeesi said there were instances where couples had tried to seek a fatwa allowing them to return to each other after the third divorce.

She gave an example of a Saudi woman who came to legal aid, who had returned to her Emirati husband after their third divorce.

The couple had obtained a fatwa from Saudi Arabia that said the third divorce happened in anger and therefore did not count.

But under UAE laws, which follow the Maliki school of Fiqh, this was not recognised as a legitimate grounds to ignore the third divorce.

The couple took their case to the courts of First Instance, Appeals and Cassation. All ruled that their third divorce counted and they could not remarry.

Ms Al Raessi clarified that in cases where someone states to their partner, “I divorce you three times” or “you are divorced, divorced, divorced”, it is only considered one divorce.

She said the three divorces must take place in separate incidents.

hdajani@thenational.ae