ISLAMIC APPROACH TO DIVORCE

It was only natural that a reaction should have set in against a law which so patently disfavoured men and brought corruption, perversion and all kinds of misery in its wake. Children—even new-born babies— were the greatest sufferers. Now take the situation prevailing in communities in which the extreme difficulty of divorce acts as a deterrent. Obviously, this was a bid to reform, but this has served only to aggravate the matter. The ancient Indian religious reformers had held separation as being illegal. They even prohibited women from remarrying so that they would be left with no incentive to seek divorce. The laws were made in such a way that once marriage ceremonies were finalized, neither could a man divorce his wife, nor was it possible for a woman to remarry after leaving her former husband. But such reformations have been generally detrimental to individuals of the society. When a man and a woman are unable to continue to live with each other, the whole of their lives is passed in great bitterness because of there being no provision for remarriage. They are doomed to continue to live a tormented life alongside partners with whom they have nothing in common. Khushwant Singh wrote in detail about Manu, who was his cousin. He narrated her ordeal in his With Malice towards One and All column (12 October 1985). Manu had a flourishing business selling ready-made garments in Los Angeles. As she did not want to marry a foreigner, she decided to come to India to find a husband and return with him to the States. She found her husband in a tall, handsome, powerfully-built man who was anxious to go abroad. The marriage took place with all pomp and splendour in a five-star hotel. It took her some months to arrange for her husband’s visa, during which time she maintained him and paid for his passage. The marriage was a disaster. The man turned out to be an alcoholic, prone to violence and averse to doing any work. Manu sought her parent’s consent to wind up her business, divorce her husband and return to India. Her parents travelled to America and tried to persuade her not to be hasty. A few days after her mother returned to Delhi, Manu’s husband strangled her and dumped her body in a deserted spot. He Separation is strongly advised against in the case of minor provocations. It is meant only as a last resort, when it has become truly unavoidable. We are commanded by God to be tolerant and forgiving.