Fatwa #1043119 December 2003India
i purchased a flat and had joint registration of flat with wife, In an obligatory circumstances of divorce, we had no children
Question
By the grace of allah i purchased a flat and had joint registration of falt with wife, In an obligatory circumstances of divorce, we had no children, after divorce ex-wife and ex-inlaws occupied my house by voilence & perforcely removing tenents & later they even filled a case in a court by creating false financial accounts and payment reciepts claiming that the flat is purchased by them sir, could u plz. suggest what should be done, according to shriah(islam)
Answer
Kindly take note of the above three points.%0D%0A%0D%0AIf you purchased the flat, then it belongs to you. It does not belong to your wife. We do not know the reason you had registered the flat on your wife?s name as well. If your ex-wife took unfair advantage of the house being registered on her name, then you have two options. %0D%0A%0D%0AYou are at liberty to take legal action and defend her claim. If you pursue this option, that will be permissible. The other option is to forfeit your flat in favour of your ex-wife and avoid a dispute. This requires courage. Allah Ta?ala states, ?And for him who is patient and forgives, verily that is from great deeds.? Rasulullah [sallallaahu alayhi wasallam] said, ?Whosoever avoid a dispute while on Haqq, Allah will grant him a palace in Jannah.?%0D%0A%0D%0AWe advise you close the chapter as this will bring grief and stress in your life, which may cost even more than the value of the flat. It is a well know fact that courts are a place of technical arguments. A person hiring an expert lawyer with experiences of the technicalities of the courts may be victorious whereas in the sight of Allah the person is not entitled to what the judge decrees in his favour. We advise you bring the courage and exercise restraint in your wife?s conduct and undue claim.%0D%0A%0D%0Aand Allah Ta'ala Knows Best%0D%0A%0D%0AMufti Ebrahim Desai