Triple Talaq Prohibition Act

There’s a consensus among Muslim scholars that the three talaqs should not be performed together and that it is against the Prophet’s teachings. However, we need to understand that there is no difference in any of the rights a woman gets, whether it is a single or triple talaq. She will be able to get the Mataa’ deserved and the Mahr granted will remain hers. As far as women are concerned, both are the same for her. It is the man that will face problems once all three talaqs are completed: even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to marry her later; except after she has married another man and then is divorced. And as someone who has lost his spouse, if he wants to remarry another woman, he has to find a way to pay another mahr as well. Whereas the divorcee is entitled to get the full mahr upon divorce. And when she remarries another man, she will be entitled to the mahr she demands from her new husband.

Since the practice of performing the three Talaqs together is against the Qur’an and the Prophet’s teachings, scholars have called it talaq al-bida‘i (innovative divorce). However, the scholars of four madhhabs have decreed that if one person does that, then three talaqs will indeed occur, and if he wants to take her back later, someone else will have to marry her and divorce her on their terms. The scholars have decreed this as punishment for those who perform all three talaqs together, that their spouse will thereby become unlawful to them. And that they will further have to bear the burden of preparing a new mahr as well in case they decide to marry again.

On the other hand, some scholars have decreed that even if the three talaqs are pronounced together, they should be considered as one. Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim are of this opinion. But the vast majority of Muslims in India follow madhhabs. And according to them, If a man pronounces all three talaqs together, those men and women become unlawful to each other. For them, the subsequent physical relationship is adultery; consequently, it is also forbidden for him to touch her or see any of her body parts except for her face and hand.

With the enactment of the Triple Talaq Bill by the Lok Sabha on December 28, 2017, triple talaq has become a criminal offense in India. Legal experts themselves have pointed out the fact that this bill is a violation of Articles 14, 15, 20, and 21 of the Constitution. This law, which is made in the name of protecting Muslim women creates difficulties for them. The law, which orders triple talaq to be given a three-year prison sentence, also stipulates that alimony should be paid to the divorced. The law does not say how a husband who is in jail is to pay alimony. The majority of Muslim women in India who follow madhhabs, cannot live with a man who has performed triple talaq. What the law ultimately does is open the door to greater evils by forcing people who believe themselves to be strangers to live together, for fear of jail time. This law prevents divorced women from becoming beneficiaries of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, which stipulates that they can get a good amount of mataa’ (necessary reward) with the divorce.

Translation: Azra Gafoor, Fathima Ameera, Hamida Abdullah & Sumayya Muhammed