𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 (490)

Divorce in the Case of Coercion Sheikh Sulayman Ar-Ruhaili ḥafidhahullāh mentions: "Coercion occurs when a man is compelled to divorce by means of a threat that is unbearable, such as killing, severe beating, harming a relative, or harming an innocent person. For example, someone places a gun to the husband’s head and says, “Divorce your wife or I will kill you,” or he says, “If you do not divorce her, we will severely whip your son,” or the woman places something around her own neck and says, “If you do not divorce me, I will kill myself,” or, “I will throw myself out of the moving car.” This constitutes coercion. It is well-known among scholars that coercion must meet certain conditions in order to be considered valid. Among these is what we have just mentioned: (1) The coercion must involve something unbearable. If the matter is not unbearable, then it is not coercion. For example, if a wife persists in pleading with her husband to divorce her and cries and continues to plead, this is not coercion. Some husbands say, “By Allāh, I divorced while coerced—she was crying,” and so on. This is not coercion and is not regarded as such. Similarly, some men marry a second wife, and the first wife insists that he divorce the second, saying to him, “I will go to my family and leave the children with you.” He then says, “By Allāh, I was coerced into divorce and divorced under coercion.” This is not considered valid coercion. The same applies if his children insist that he divorce and pressure him collectively; this is not coercion. Coercion must involve something unbearable, such as killing, beating, or similar threats. (2) Another condition is that a person must have no way of escaping the coercion except by doing what he is coerced into doing. If he can escape by other means, then this is not valid coercion. As in the example in the car: she says, “I will open the door and throw myself out if you do not divorce me.” In this case, he can secure the door locks so that she cannot open the door; therefore, this is not coercion, because he is able to eliminate the threat without resorting to divorce. (3) Another condition is that the threat must be real and existent, or likely to occur with a strong presumption of its occurrence. As we said, the woman places a knife at her throat and says, “If you do not divorce me, I will cut my neck.” Here, this is real or highly probable, because the one making the threat is capable of carrying it out. This constitutes coercion. If the conditions of coercion are fulfilled, then the divorce of the coerced person does NOT take effect according to the majority of scholars, and this is the stronger opinion. This is due to the evidences indicating that a coerced person is not held accountable, such as the saying of Allāh Almighty: “Except for one who is compelled while his heart is at rest with faith.” If a person is not held accountable for uttering words of disbelief under coercion, then he is likewise not held accountable for uttering the words of divorce. Also, the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: “Indeed, Allāh has pardoned my nation for mistakes, forgetfulness, and what they are coerced into.” This applies when the coercion is the reason for the utterance of divorce—meaning that if he divorces WITHOUT INTENDING DIVORCE but only due to coercion, then the divorce does not take effect. However, there is an issue discussed by the jurists: when he intends divorce while coerced. Case one: He pronounces divorce while not wanting or intending divorce, but does so only to escape coercion. This does NOT take effect according to the majority of scholars. Case two: He intends divorce while coerced. He says to her, “You are divorced,” intending it. Although he is coerced, he utters “You are divorced” with the intention of divorcing her. This has two scenarios: 1. He INTENDS divorce ONLY to ESCAPE COERCION. Here, the divorce does not take effect.