Do I Need A Divorce

[LEILA1961]

Hi to everyone
can anyone help me plz?
i'm a uk citizen and was married according to muslim custom in a foreign country I have since left my husband and returned home. is it possible for me to marry someone else in my own country?

[imanalistic]

If you are not muslim then you probably don't need to care about a muslim divorce. If you are a muslim and had a muslim marriage, then you will need a divorce.

[dhakiyya]

From a uk law perspective I have no idea. Probably best enquire at the citizens advice bureau. If the marriage isn't recognised by UK law you can legally remarry in the UK afaik, but I don't know whether yours would be or not.

From an Islamic perspective you have to get divorced inshaAllah before remarrying. See a scholar inshaAllah about how to proceed inshaAllah.

[Rie_Maya]

Hi to everyone
can anyone help me plz?
i'm a uk citizen and was married according to muslim custom in a foreign country I have since left my husband and returned home. is it possible for me to marry someone else in my own country?

In some countries Muslim marriage IS legal marriage according to that country - as such a marriage would be recognised within the UK... you need to investigate whether you merely had a "religious" ceremony without any legally binding ceremonies/documents... look via the embassy of that coutnry for a start...

If the ceremony was solely an islamic ceremony not recognised outside of Islam then there are prescribed manners of delaling with a divorce... though ultimatley this will only concern you if you are also Muslim which I assume from your username???...

[LEILA1961]

Thnx everyone for ur input. it was a religious ceremony and no papers were passed to the british embassy of that country stated that i had married.
I was not a muslim at the time but to et married i was sort of pronounced to be muslim after reciting some verses. Any more views on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
thnx

[`asiya]

Thnx everyone for ur input. it was a religious ceremony and no papers were passed to the british embassy of that country stated that i had married.
I was not a muslim at the time but to et married i was sort of pronounced to be muslim after reciting some verses. Any more views on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
thnx

u should go to a masjid and ask to speak to the imam and insha Allah he can advise u properly according to your circumstances. If you were married in another country and if that was legally recognised as a marriage in that country , then u will have to also get a legal divorce in the law of that land for that marriage before you can marry again in the uk. as in the uk it is illegal to be married to two people at the same time in the law of the land, so if they recognise your marriage in that muslim land, then it will be recognised in the uk as a real marriage in the law. Allahu alam as i said please get specific advise from a local imam insha ALlah dont worry just go along and ask to speak to him insha Allah u will find them helpful :)

[dhakiyya]

if you said the shahada and then meant it you became Muslim mashaAllah, and inshaAllah you should do your best to practice Islam properly, which would mean getting a proper Islamic divorce if you wish to marry again inshaAllah. So see a scholar about this inshaAllah.

If you took your shahada didn't mean it - like it was just meaningles verses to you - then you don't count as a Muslim. If you wish to be a Muslim inshaAllah or consider yourself to be one, then you would need to take your shahada again, and mean it this time inshaAllah, and then inshaAllah work on practicing Islam from there, which would include getting a proper Islamic divorce inshaAllah if you want to remarry. You don't have to do your shahada in a mosque inshaAllah - any two Muslim witnesses will do just fine inshaAllah - but in your circumstances inshaAllah it would be useful for you to have a chat with an Imam or scholar about all these issues inshaAllah.

If you didn't mean your shahada and don't want to be a Muslim, and you are just concerned about UK laws, from what you say it sounds like the UK won't recognise the marriage and you'll be able to marry again in the UK. but I would advise you to check with the citizens advice bureau just in case.

It was very irresponsible of whoever heard your shahada to pronounce you Muslim when you didn't really understand what was going on... You can't be "sort of" pronounced Muslim! if this happened at a mosque the Imam should have made sure you understood the shahada when you took it, and that taking it (provided you mean it) makes you Muslim, and also ensured that you had further guidance so you can learn about how to practice Islam and so on.

[Rie_Maya]

Intention is what's important Islamically speaking....

If YOU consider yourself to be Muslim then you may want to read this article I found for you....

If you donot consider yourself to be Muslim then you are "Free as a bird" so to speak....

"Divorce is the most hateful thing to Allah, but it is allowed (halal) only in the case of absolute necessity. If a couple tried their best to reconcile their differences, but they still could not agree and they found impossible to live with each other, then only in that case they should separate in a proper and decent manner. Divorce can be initiated by the husband or by the wife. The husband has the right to pronounce the words of divorce (talaq) to his wife. He can also give her a statement of divorce in writing. The wife can seek divorce from her husband through khul`, but if he refuses to grant her request then she can seek the dissolution of marriage through the court of law. The Shari`ah has not given the right to a woman to divorce her husband, because only the husband has all the financial obligations of the family. After divorce he will be responsible to provide her maintenance during her `iddah and if there are any children in the family then he will be responsible for their expenses. Thus to grant her that right equally with the husband while she has no financial obligation is unfair and unjust. The wife can, however, divorce her husband if her husband gave her that right either at the time of marriage or afterwards.

A husband who wants to divorce his wife should use the words of divorce with full awareness after much thinking and consideration. Using the words of divorce in haste or anger is not right. The proper procedure is to give divorce when a woman is not pregnant and is not going through her monthly menstrual cycle. Divorce can take place by saying one time "I have divorced you" (talluqtuki) or "You are divorced" (anti taliq). After this the women should spend the time of her `iddah. During the period of `iddah the husband can cancel his divorce and can resume the matrimonial relationship, but if it does not happen then the divorce takes effect and at the end of the `iddah period their marriage ends. There is no need to repeat the words of divorce more than once. Even one divorce is sufficient to terminate the relationship.

The provision of the second and third divorce is given for a husband who divorces his wife one time and then cancels his divorce, but then after sometime changes his mind and divorces her again second time. Then he changes his mind and resumes the relationship and then again after that he divorces her. The Shari`ah says that now this relationship should end. Marriage is a serious matter. One cannot keep divorcing one's wife and returning her back. After the third divorce he cannot take her back. The third divorce is called the "irrevocable divorce" (talaq mughallaz). The wife now becomes forbidden to her husband completely. She cannot go back to this husband who has divorced her three times, unless she marries another person who out of his own free will divorces her and then after the `iddah she and her previous husband want to remarry. This is called halalah in the language of the Shari`ah. This rule is given by the Shari'ah to reduce the occurrence of three divorces and to protect the honor of the woman.

Some people misuse this procedure out of ignorance or willingly. There are some people who think that the divorce (talaq) would not happen unless one makes the statement three times. There are others who repeat the words of divorce for emphasis and have no idea that this could be very serious. The jurists (fuqaha') have discussed this issue for the last fourteen hundred years. There were some jurists who took the strict position that three divorces whether uttered at once or separately would be considered as three divorces. According to them, whether a person misused this right knowingly or unknowingly the affect would be the same. If some one uttered the words of divorce three times, then this would be talaq mughallaz and his wife would become totally forbidden for him and they could not reconcile without a halalah. There are, however, some other jurists who emphasize the role of will in marriage and divorce. They say that if the husband used three divorces intentionally as three, then they will be counted as three, but if he repeated the words in anger or to emphasize his point then this is one divorce and he will have the right to resume the relationship with his wife. I feel that the second position is closer to the spirit of the Shari`ah. I am pleased to see that there are now some Hanafi jurists also who are inclined to this position. There were fatwas issued to this effect by the `Ulama' of Deoband and Nadwa in India as well the `Ulama in Saudi Arabia.

The issue of a divorce given in anger is also important. The basic rule is that divorce must be uttered with full consciousness and without any coercion. If a person pronounced the words of divorce to his wife, in a fit of anger, while he lost all control over himself or due to the influence of intoxicants which he sinfully consumed, or he was forced by someone else to do so, then in all these cases his words of divorce are null and void and have no effect. In conclusion, let me say that Muslims must protect their family life and must avoid divorce as much as possible. If it becomes necessary to have divorce then use the Islamic methods and procedures. Obviously we cannot give all the details here. Those who need more information they should consult special books on this subject or speak to those who are knowledgeable."


http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543322

Feel free to PM if I can help you in any other way.....

(PS I am a revert to an Islam so should you wish to chat about anything related to this also feel free! Though I cannot profess to be the bets Muslim, I feel my heart is in the right place - but shall let Allah swt judge that!)

[LEILA1961]

thank you all for your advice, I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my question.