Two Ways of Divorcing

final divorce on the utterance of talaq three times in a row? And he proceeded to impose such a rule. This act on the part of the second Caliph, apparently against the principles of the Quran and sunnah, did not change the shariah’s law. To think that this led to any revision of Islamic law would be to misunderstand the situation: the Caliph’s order merely constituted an exception to the rule and was of a temporary nature. This aptly demonstrates how the Islamic Shariah may make concessions by circumstances. Each Shariah law may be eternal, but a Muslim ruler can make exceptions for specific individuals in exceptional circumstances. However, such a ruling will not take on eternal law. It will be purely temporary in nature and duration. Various traditions in this connection show that the second Caliph’s treatment of certain persons did not align with the shariah. His rulings on these occasions were like executive orders consistent with his position as a ruler. If he acted in this manner, it was to punish those who were being hasty in finalizing the divorce procedure. It is a matter of Islamic historical record that when any such person was brought before ‘Umar for having uttered the word talaq three times on one occasion, he held this to be rebellious conduct and would order him to be flogged on the back. (Sunan Sa‘id ibn Mansur, Hadith No. 1073) Perhaps the most important aspect of this matter is that when ‘Umar gave his exceptional verdict on divorce being