the condition that she give him a compensation by which she redeems herself, for Allah, the Exalted, says: “If you fear that they will not uphold the bounds set by Allah, then there is no blame upon either of them concerning what she gives to secure her release” (Q 2:229). That is to say, when the husband or the wife realizes that, were they to remain married, each would fail to fulfill the duties owed to the other—so that the husband might wrong his wife, or the wife fears that she would wrong her husband—then there is no sin upon the wife if she ransoms herself from her husband with a payment, and no sin upon the husband for accepting that payment and setting her free.

The wisdom behind this ruling is that the wife is released from her husband in an irrevocable manner, providing a just solution for both parties. At that point it is recommended for the husband to accede to her request; and if the husband still loves her, it is preferable for her to be patient and not to ransom herself from him.

Khulʿ is permissible when its cause, mentioned in the noble verse, is present—namely, the fear that if the couple remains together they will not keep within Allah’s limits. When no such need exists, khulʿ is disliked, and some scholars consider it unlawful in that circumstance, citing the Prophet’s statement: “Any woman who asks her husband for divorce without a valid reason will be forbidden even the fragrance of Paradise,” narrated by the five except al-Nasa’i.

Shaykh Taqi al-Din said: “The khulʿ established by the Sunnah is when the woman feels aversion toward the man and thereby ransoms herself from him as a captive would.”

And if the husband does not love her, yet he keeps her only so that she may ransom herself