Chapter on Khulʿ (Marital Dissolution in Return for Compensation)

The shaykh—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

What is the khulʿ prescribed in the Quran and Sunnah?

He replied:

The khulʿ prescribed in the Quran and Sunnah is when a woman dislikes her husband and wishes to leave him, so she gives him the dowry, or part of it, to ransom herself, just as a captive is ransomed. But when both spouses wish to remain with one another, such khulʿ is an innovation introduced into Islam.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—also said: If she dislikes him and chooses to leave him, she ransoms herself from him by returning the dowry she received and releasing him from what he still owes her. He then grants her khulʿ, as prescribed in the Quran and Sunnah and agreed upon by the imams. Allah knows best.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

Concerning a woman who disliked her husband and sought khulʿ from him, saying to him, “If you do not release me, I will kill myself.” The guardian then compelled him to separate from her, and she married another man. The first husband has now sought her return, saying that he separated from her under compulsion, while she wishes to remain only with the second husband?