26th August 2026
Question: My wife demanded a faskh from Sharee Council in UK and I also divorced her Islamically upon her request. However, we are also expected to legally annul the marriage as our marriage is legally registered. I need clarification on below mentioned points
- If I (husband) initiate the legal divorce process, will it be considered a second or third talaq in addition to the faskh and the first divorce I gave?
- Does a civil divorce count as a separate divorce or not?
الجواب حامداً و مصلياً
In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer
Concerning your case enquiry, the clear divorce you verbally issued is classed as one revocable divorce.[1] The faskh that the Shariah Council issued; dissolving your marriage based on the Shariah grounds, does not count as a separate divorce. According to the Hanafi fiqh, faskh and talaq are not the same. Talaq is issued by the husband whilst faskh is pronounced by the Muslim judge on legitimate grounds with or without the husband’s consent. Moreover, if a man pronounces one divorce and retracts then he has two divorces remaining. Contrarily, if the marriage was Islamically dissolved and the couple decided to remarry, then the husband returns with the ownership of three divorces. [2] In your case, the faskh does not constitute a second divorce.
As for the civil divorce, if you as a husband willingly initiate the process, and consented for the judge to dissolve the marriage on your behalf then this will class as a second divorce. To explain further, when initiating the divorce, you nominated the non-Muslim judge as your representative to annul the marriage. This means that the judge has dissolved the marriage on your behalf.[3] Wordings such as ‘dissolving, annulment, invalidating’ etc used to break the marriage constitute talaq bain, not a faskh because Islām has not given a non-Muslim judge the authority to dissolve an Islamic marriage.[4]
In short, your first divorce will count as the first revocable divorce. The civil divorce will count as a second divorce but a bain (irrevocable).[5] As for the faskh, then that will not count as a separate divorce.
[Allãh Knows Best]
Written and researched by (Mufti) Abdul Waheed
Answer Attested by Shaykh Mufti Saiful Islam
JKN Fatawa Department
[1] Fatawa Hindiyyah, Kitāb al-Talāq vol 1, p. 355-356
[الْفَصْلُ الْأَوَّلُ فِي الطَّلَاقِ الصَّرِيحِ]
(الْبَابُ الثَّانِي فِي إيقَاعِ الطَّلَاقِ وَفِيهِ سَبْعَةُ فُصُولٍ) . (الْفَصْلُ الْأَوَّلُ فِي الطَّلَاقِ الصَّرِيحِ) . وَهُوَ كَأَنْتِ طَالِقٌ وَمُطَلَّقَةٌ وَطَلَّقْتُك وَتَقَعُ وَاحِدَةٌ رَجْعِيَّةٌ وَإِنْ نَوَى الْأَكْثَرَ أَوْ الْإِبَانَةَ أَوْ لَمْ يَنْوِ شَيْئًا كَذَا فِي الْكَنْزِ.
وَإِنْ قَالَ أَنْتِ الطَّلَاقُ أَوْ أَنْتِ طَالِقٌ الطَّلَاقَ أَوْ أَنْتِ طَالِقٌ طَلَاقًا فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ نِيَّةٌ أَوْ نَوَى وَاحِدَةً أَوْ ثِنْتَيْنِ فَهِيَ وَاحِدَةٌ رَجْعِيَّةٌ وَإِنْ نَوَى ثَلَاثًا فَثَلَاثٌ وَلَوْ قَالَ أَنْتِ طَالِقٌ يَقَعُ الطَّلَاقُ بِهِ وَلَا يُحْتَاجُ فِيهِ إلَى النِّيَّةِ وَيَكُونُ رَجْعِيًّا
[2] Maulana Abdus Samad, Kitab Faskh wa Tafreeq, p. 59, Mawsuatul Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah, vol 32, p. 132
وَالصِّلَةُ بَيْنَ الْفَسْخِ وَالطَّلاَقِ: أَنَّ الْفَسْخَ مُقَارِبٌ لِلطَّلاَقِ إِلاَّ أَنَّهُ يُخَالِفُهُ فِي أَنَّ الْفَسْخَ نَقْضٌ لِلْعَقْدِ، أَمَّا الطَّلاَقُ فَلاَ يَنْقُضُ الْعَقْدَ وَلَكِنْ يُنْهِي آثَارَهُ فَقَطْ
Al-Musili, Al-Ikhtiyar lita’llil Mukhtar. Kitāb Nikah, vol 3, p. 100
[فصل الكفاءة في النكاح]
قَالَ: (وَإِذَا تَزَوَّجَتْ غَيْرَ كُفْءٍ فَلِلْوَلِيِّ أَنْ يُفَرِّقَ بَيْنَهُمَا) دَفْعًا لِلْعَارِ عَنْهُ، وَالتَّفْرِيقُ إِلَى الْقَاضِي كَمَا تَقَدَّمَ فِي خِيَارِ الْبُلُوغِ، وَمَا لَمْ يُفَرِّقْ فَأَحْكَامُ النِّكَاحِ ثَابِتَةٌ، وَلَا يَكُونُ الْفَسْخُ طَلَاقًا؛ لِأَنَّ الطَّلَاقَ تَصَرُّفٌ فِي النِّكَاحِ، وَهَذَا فَسْخٌ لِأَصْلِ النِّكَاحِ. وَلِأَنَّ الْفَسْخَ إِنَّمَا يَكُونُ طَلَاقًا إِذَا فَعَلَهُ الْقَاضِي نِيَابَةً عَنِ الزَّوْجِ، وَهَذَا لَيْسَ كَذَلِكَ.
Whilst discussing the topic of the legality of faskh based on physical defects, Imam Muhammad (ra) argues that the reason for faskh is her inability to divorce, therefore faskh has been prescribed for her to avert harm. This establishes the difference between Talaq and faskh. Kasān, Badā’i Sanāi, Kitāb al-Talāq, vol 2 p. 327
[فَصْلٌ شُرُوط لُزُومِ النِّكَاحِ]
(وَجْهُ) قَوْلِ مُحَمَّدٍ أَنَّ الْخِيَارَ فِي الْعُيُوبِ الْخَمْسَةِ إنَّمَا ثَبَتَ لِدَفْعِ الضَّرَرِ عَنْ الْمَرْأَةِ وَهَذِهِ الْعُيُوبُ فِي إلْحَاقِ الضَّرَرِ بِهَا فَوْقَ تِلْكَ؛ لِأَنَّهَا مِنْ الْأَدْوَاءِ الْمُتَعَدِّيَةِ عَادَةً، فَلَمَّا ثَبَتَ الْخِيَارُ بِتِلْكَ، فَلَأَنْ يَثْبُتَ بِهَذِهِ أَوْلَى بِخِلَافِ مَا إذَا كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْعُيُوبُ فِي جَانِبِ الْمَرْأَةِ؛ لِأَنَّ الزَّوْجَ، وَإِنْ كَانَ يَتَضَرَّرُ بِهَا لَكِنْ يُمْكِنُهُ دَفْعُ الضَّرَرِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ بِالطَّلَاقِ، فَإِنَّ الطَّلَاقَ بِيَدِهِ، وَالْمَرْأَةُ لَا يُمْكِنُهَا ذَلِكَ؛ لِأَنَّهَا لَا تَمْلِكُ الطَّلَاقَ، فَتَعَيَّنَ الْفَسْخُ طَرِيقًا لِدَفْعِ الضَّرَرِ،
[3] Majmu’ Qawanin al-Islami, p. 202, Durrul Mukhtār wa hashiyah Ibn Ābideen Shāmi, Kitāb al-Talāq, vol 3 p. 317
أَمَّا فِي (طَلِّقِي ضَرَّتَكِ أَوْ) قَوْلُهُ لِأَجْنَبِيٍّ (طَلِّقْ امْرَأَتِي) فَ (يَصِحُّ رُجُوعُهُ) مِنْهُ وَلَمْ يُقَيِّدْ بِالْمَجْلِسِ لِأَنَّهُ تَوْكِيلٌ مَحْضٌ،
[4] Mufti Radha ul-Haq, Fatawa Darul Ulum Zakariyyah, vol 4, p. 273, Mufti Ismail Kacholvi, Fatawa Diniyyah, vol 3, p. 473-475, Shaykh Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, Jadeed Fiqhi Masail, vol 1, p. 435
[5] Durrul Mukhtār wa hashiyah Ibn Ābideen Shāmi, Kitāb al-Talāq, vol 3 p. 306
[بَابُ الْكِنَايَاتِ]
(الصَّرِيحُ يَلْحَقُ الصَّرِيحَ وَ)
يَلْحَقُ (الْبَائِنُ) بِشَرْطِ الْعِدَّةِ (وَالْبَائِنُ يَلْحَقُ الصَّرِيحَ) الصَّرِيحُ مَا لَا يَحْتَاجُ إلَى نِيَّةٍ بَائِنًا كَانَ الْوَاقِعُ بِهِ أَوْ رَجْعِيًّا