Q: Me and my husband were living separate and the divorce proceedings were in the court pending . Legally we were not divorced and he never said divorce word to me and while the divorce was pending he passed away his parents and family did not contact me about his passing away and when I said to them he was still my husband because divorce wasn’t through yet they said no, in our eyes you are divorced and you have got no right to know he passed away. My question is, was their behaviour right about not letting me know about my husband and telling everyone that they are divorced although divorce wasn’t through yet ?
A: If he did not issue any divorce, then you remained in his nikaah till the end. They should have informed you of his demise so that you could commence your iddat of four months and ten days from the time of his demise.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)