Fatwa #321762 April 2015United Kingdom
Intention in Civil Divorce
Question
I have a friend who got married at 15 years old in Pakistan to her first cousin. When they both returned to the uk, they registered her marriage again in uk. After 13 years, they both divorced due to him cheating behind her back. Considering the two got divorce in uk through uk courts, is the divorce acceptable? What happens to their Pakistan nikkah? Both don't seems bothered, as they both have moved on and remarried again?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
If the husband also intended to issue your friend a Talāq (Islamic divorce) in the civil divorce procedure then only the Nikah performed in Pakistan will terminate. If her husband did not intend to give her a Talāq in the civil divorce procedure, then the civil divorce will not be regarded as a Talāq in Shariah and accordingly the Nikah performed in Pakistan remains valid. The second Nikah will be invalid.
For more information regarding the civil divorce procedure, proceed to the following link:
http://www.askimam.org/public/question_detail/32419
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Saleem Khan
Student Darul Iftaa
Bradford, England
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net