Divorce

• Application to dissolve Islamic marriage contract
• Initial stages:
  • Initial assessment interview
  • Following assessment, decision made by panel if case taken on or not
  • If case taken on, husband contacted to be informed of application and necessary steps taken thereafter (including joint meetings)
• UK CLIENTS ONLY

Please note: 1. Total fees are £550 (£275 initial assessment fee covers the first session and an additional £275 will be due upon progression beyond the initial assessment session*) 2. Khula is NOT A GUARANTEE at the end of the process. 3. If there is a task due by the applicant (which has been communicated) and there is no contact from the applicant for a period of three months or more, the Council will automatically close the case and by policy there will be no reminders communicated of the closure. More information on fees  

What is Khula

Before explaining the Islamic divorce process, it's important to first understand the Islamic Marriage. Here is a brief overview: An Islamic marriage is the state of being united to a person as a spouse in an Islamically legal, consensual, and contractual way. The groom must present a mahr (dowry) to the bride and must obtain the consent of the bride, as well as her guardian, before the Islamic marriage can be solemnised. Allah describes the Islamic marriage contract as being a ‘مِّيثَـٰقًا غَلِيظًۭا’ (An-Nisa, v21) which translates to a ‘strong covenant’. Through this contract, Allah made halal (permissible) something that would otherwise be haram (forbidden). To make something halal or haram, is a right that only belongs to Allah and as such, no one or group has the right to go against what has been divinely ordained. The Key ways to actively end the Islamic marriage are:

• Talaaq: Husband issuing a divorce to his wife
• Khula: Wife initiating a divorce from her husband
• Faskh: Dissolution of the Islamic marriage by an Islamic authority.

Khula is an Islamic legal term referring to the process by which a wife can seek a termination of the Islamic marriage contract, if she finds the marriage to be unbearable. The process is usually carried out through a mutual agreement and typically, the wife may be required to return the mahr (dowry) or a part of it, to the husband in exchange for terminating the Islamic marriage. In cases where there is no amicable agreement, the wife may approach the Islamic Council or other authorised Islamic bodies to seek mediation for a khula or a Faskh (Islamic marriage dissolution). The role of the Islamic Council is to mediate between the husband and the wife to help them achieve a mutual agreement in relation to the khula application. If a mutual agreement is not or cannot be reached, the Council may then proceed to issue a ruling on the matter. Its important to note, that the Islamic Council is a neutral party, that does not represent any side in any dispute. Rather it advocates for the Islamic rights of all parties equally. So irrespective of who submits the application or who presents their case first, both parties will be treated fairly and without discrimination or prejudice.  

Booking:

To initiate the khula process, the wife would visit our website to submit a khula application and to arrange a short initial assessment meeting to confirm the details on the application form.

Contact phase:

Once the initial assessment is carried out, a contact process is triggered, where a formal notification is sent to the husband to notify him of his wife’s application.

Mediation:

Thereafter, a joint meeting is carried out (when possible) between the husband and the wife to hear from both sides and to understand the grounds being presented for the application. If both sides reach an agreement, the case is finalised and closed. If both parties don’t agree on a way forward, and enough time has been afforded to them to discuss and agree on an outcome, their case is presented to Islamic Council’s panel of Scholars for a review and potentially a ruling on the areas of disagreement, bring the case to a close.

Contact phase:

You may be wondering… What happens if the husband doesn’t respond or cannot respond to the formal notification? The Council will take steps to initiate contact with the husband by all the means available and will afford sufficient time for him to receive the communications and respond. If this fails, the Council may attempt to contact others who may have an established line of communication with the husband or in some cases, request independent witness testimonies to corroborate the wife’s claims. The situation will then be assessed by the panel of scholars to see if the case can proceed in the absence of the husband. Each case is different and often requires a tailored approach, therefore all factors must be reviewed carefully before a verdict of Faskh (Islamic marriage dissolution) can be issued.

How long is the process?

The duration of a khula case cannot be guaranteed by anyone as no two cases are the same. Despite this, we have seen that on average, khula cases can take between 6 to 12 months, sometimes quicker and sometimes longer (depending on the nature of the case).

What happens in the end?

Once the marriage contract is ended, either by means of Khula or Faskh, the wife must observe an iddah (waiting period). Unlike talaaq, the husband cannot do rujoo (revoke the divorce) during this period. And should the wife change her mind during this period and wishes to reunite with the husband, both parties must seek advice from the Council or a qualified Islamic body, to determine if they are able to do so or not.

Further Note:

An important point to remember is, that an Islamic marriage is a sacred contract between a husband and a wife. For a third party (whether it’s an Islamic judge, imam, knowledgeable person… even if it’s the prophet (peace be upon him) himself, to come along and break this sacred contract is not an easy thing, so due process must be followed without skipping any steps. Its also important to be wary of those who falsely claim to provide these services. Here are some qualities they possess (or lack):

1. Judges
   • They don’t have real Islamic scholars or judges. And if they claim that they do, they don’t disclose who they are and what their qualifications are.
   • Its important that a judge is known and has the necessary qualification to act as a judge on the case being presented.
   • It can’t be anyone who works in a masjid, Islamic institution or just looks pious
   • So if you don’t know who is judging over your case, then who are you entrusting your case to?
2. Guaranteed Timeframe:
   • How can a marriage that spanned 20 years and another marriage that spanned 1 month be the same? There are too many variables that could impact the duration of a case and if someone guarantees a timeframe, they are either skipping a few steps or not following any steps. Which would void any ‘ruling’ that is issued.
   • There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to the duration of the process, rather there are steps that must be followed and getting to those steps can vary depending on the circumstances of the case.
3. Fast-track:
   • The process doesn’t change if you throw more money at it. If it does, you must question the fairness of the process. You might as well buy your own printer and print a divorce certificate for yourself… at least it’s faster and probably cheaper.
4. Fair Hearing:
   • They do not offer a fair chance to hear from both parties, despite there being an opportunity for this.
   • We often get people who come to us saying that they received a divorce certificate out of the blue, without any prior notice. Or in some cases, they receive a notice letter that requests a response and when they respond to the notice (in good time), they were ignored, and the process continued as if nothing happened.
   • How can a judge be considered just when they refuse to grant a fair chance to hear from one of the disputing parties or is quick to judge without hearing the full story?
5. They act as a representative of one of the parties:
   • Anyone who acts as a representative of any party in a dispute cannot be a judge as they are a part of the dispute.