Q: What are the rights of a woman in Islam in terms of seeking a divorce?
A: The wife should not hasten in seeking divorce. Instead she should adopt all the halaal means and ways Shariat has allowed in trying to resolve the marital problem. If she is able to speak to her husband directly and thereby amicably resolve the problem, then she should do so. However, if this is not possible, then she should refer the matter to a third party e.g. the elders of the family or an Ulama body and ask them to assist her in her problem. If after exhausting all efforts and means to bring about a reconciliation one does not succeed in reconciling and the woman is unable to continue with the nikaah, then she may ask for a divorce.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)