Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (13/21)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

and he is told, “Provide maintenance,” but he procrastinates and refuses, then we compel him and require him to divorce. If, in this case, he refuses to divorce, the judge carries out the divorce on his behalf.

A related case is what was mentioned previously in the chapter on khulʿ (wife-initiated divorce): if a woman dislikes remaining with her husband and says, “I find no fault in his character or his religion, but I can never remain with him,” then, as previously mentioned, he is—according to the sounder view—compelled to agree to khulʿ, on condition that what he spent on his wife as dower be returned to him.

His statement, “by inflicting pain upon him,” is an example of coercion. That is, the one coercing him causes him pain by beating, imprisonment, or, for example, tying him down on the scorching ground during the heat of summer; or by withholding from him something that would save him. An example of this is the report that, during the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, a man went out to collect honey from the mountains. His wife lowered a rope to him so that he could descend by it. When he reached the place and wished to climb back up, his wife said to him, “I will not give you the rope until you divorce me.” So he divorced her and went to Umar, who said, “The woman is still your wife.” (1) He did not regard the divorce as effective, because the man had been coerced.

His statement, “or upon his child,” means inflicting pain upon his child—for instance, if they seize his child and harm him before his eyes, saying, “We will not release the child until you divorce,” and he then divorces.

If someone were to say, “He himself did not suffer pain,” we reply: That is true: his body did not suffer pain, but his heart did, and this may be harder upon him than if the act had been done to him personally.

His statement, “or by the seizure of property that would harm him”: harm differs according to people. One person would not be harmed if a million riyals were taken from him, whereas another would be harmed if ten riyals were taken from him. Thus, if a person possesses a hundred million and something is taken from him

(1) It was recorded by al-Bayhaqi (7:357). Al-Hafiz graded it weak in al-Talkhis (3:216), as did al-Albani in al-Irwa (no. 2048).

وقيل له: أنفق، فماطل وأبى، فإننا نكرهه ونلزمه أن يطلق، فإن أبى في هذه الحال أن يطلق فإن القاضي يتولى التطليق عنه. ومن هذا ما سبق في باب الخلع إذا كرهت المرأة البقاء مع الزوج، وقالت: أنا لا أعيب عليه في خُلُق ولا دين، لكن ما أقدر أن أبقى معه أبداً، فقد سبق أنه يُكره ـ على الصحيح ـ على المخالعة، بشرط أن يُرد إليه ما أنفق على زوجته من المهر. وقوله: «بإيلام له» هذا تمثيل للإكراه، يعني أن المُكرِه آلمه بضرب أو حبس، أو قيده ـ مثلاً ـ بالرمضاء في أيام الصيف والقيظ، أو بمنع ما ينقذه، مثل ما ذُكر أن رجلاً في عهد عمر بن الخطاب ﵁ خرج يشتار عسلاً يأخذه من الجبال، فدلَّت إليه امرأته الحبل لينزل به، فلما وصل إلى المكان وأراد أن يصعد، قالت له امرأته: لن أعطيك الحبل حتى تطلقني، فطلقها فذهب إلى عمر ﵁ فقال: المرأة امرأتك (١)، ولم ينفذ الطلاق لأنه مُكرَه. قوله: «أو لولده» أي: إيلاماً لولده، كأن يمسكوا ولده ويؤذوه أمامه، وقالوا: لن نُطْلِقَ الولد حتى تطلِّق فطلق. فلو قال قائل: هو ما تألم، نقول: صحيح أنه ما تألم بدناً، لكن تألم قلباً، وهذا قد يكون أشد عليه مما لو كان هذا الفعل به. قوله: «أو أخذ مال يضره» الضرر يختلف بحسب الناس، فشخص لو أخذت منه مليون ريال ما يضره، وآخر لو أخذت منه عشرة ريالات يضره، فالإنسان الذي عنده مائة مليون إذا أخذ منه

(١) أخرجه البيهقي (٧/ ٣٥٧)، وضعفه الحافظ في التلخيص (٣/ ٢١٦)، والألباني في الإرواء (٢٠٤٨).