ISLAMIC APPROACH TO DIVORCE

ISLAMIC APPROACH TO DIVORCE Natural and Impartial “Childless couples tend to have higher divorce rates than couples with children”. So says the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the basis of data collected in western countries. A western divorce court judge confirms that “every little youngster born to a couple is an added assurance that their marriage will never be dissolved in a divorce court.” I N spite of these apparently favourable psychological factors and natural attachments of parents and children, the rising incidence of divorce is a new and observable phenomenon of the modern world. One of the highest contributing factors for this is the ease with which women can now make a living. On this, the Encyclopaedia Britannica says: “Industrialization has made it easier for women to support themselves, whether they are single, married, divorced, or widowed. In this connection, it is interesting to note that the Great Depression of the 1930s stopped the rise in the number of divorces in the United States for a time”. While marriage is the rule of life and divorce only an exception, the latter must also be accepted as a reality. Indeed, there are commandments to deal accordingly, with such cases in both divine and human laws. The authentic representation of divine law now exists in the form of the Quran, it having been preserved in its entirety by God, and, therefore, free from all human interpolations. In the Quran and the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet), there are various commandments regarding divorce, the main point being that divorce should be sought only under unavoidable circumstances. The Prophet spoke of it as being the most unpleasant of all the lawful things in the eyes of God and said that when it does take place, it should be done in an atmosphere of goodwill. In no way should one harbour ill-will against the other. The Meaning of ‘Provision’ In Islamic jurisprudence, the material arrangements which a man makes for his divorced spouse is termed ‘divorce provision’. There is Divorce should be sought only under unavoidable circumstances. The Prophet spoke of it as being the most unpleasant of all the lawful things in the eyes of God.