WOMEN IN ISLAM

reached a consensus (‘ijma) on this matter. (Rawai‘ al-Bayan, Vol. 1, p. 334) However, the consensus reached was not on the general issue of divorce but on the right of Muslim rulers to make temporary and exceptional rulings, as had been done by ‘Umar. The Companions of the Prophet could never have agreed to annul a Quranic injunction or to modify for all time to come to a prescribed divorce system. All that was decided upon was that exceptional circumstances warranted exceptional rulings on the part of the Caliph. He was entitled to punish anyone who digressed from the shariah in any manner he thought fitting. This right possessed by the ruler of the time is established in the shariah. Many other instances, not necessarily relating to personal disputes, can be cited as his exercise of this right. THE CASE OF WOMEN How can a woman seek divorce under Islamic law? When a woman wishes to divorce her husband, she has to put her case before a religious scholar or a body of religious scholars. They then consider her circumstances in the light of the Quran and the Hadith, and if they find reasonable grounds for separation, they decide in her favour. The woman must have scholars to act on her behalf because women are more emotional than men—as has been proved by scientific research—and it is to prevent hasty and illconsidered divorces taking place that she is, thus, advised. If we seldom hear of Muslim women committing suicide or