Question Summary:
Why is Talaaq issued in the state of anger taken into consideration?

Question Detail:

I am deeply concerned with the advice given to fellow Muslims about talaaq. A lot of questions state that the husband said talaaq thrice in anger and the answer given was is that the marriage is over. Talaaq is a very sensitive issue and a simple yes or no answer is not enough. Many scholars have different opinions about this and this should be mentioned to all the people who ask talaaq questions and all the Ahadith and Aayaat should be mentioned, not just a few that support the student/ mufti’s opinion.

I have researched enough to find out that Allah does not take thoughtless oaths seriously and talaaq is also considered an oath. Also, everyone gets angry, and when this happens, words and reasoning can’t be taken seriously as anger makes people insane to extreme levels. So talaaq given in anger is a thoughtless and insane oath. Also, many scholars mentioned a Hadith from Hazrat Abu Bakr radhiallahu anhu stating that talaaq given thrice at any one time is counted as one talaaq.
My personal opinion is that if a person is not sane, then how can the talaaq from such a person in that state be taken seriously! I feel it is common sense. Allah hates divorce and it cannot be that easy to get done. Majority of people say things in anger and if everyone took these words seriously, we would not have families or a society etc.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
 
We have analyzed your email and understand that you are expressing your opinions rather than asking a query. While your concern for the Ummah and sincerity is appreciated, the fact of matter is that concern for the Ummah must be addressed through the channels of Shariah; Quran, Ahādīth, Ijmā’ and Qiyās.
Qiyās is the science of analogy which has its defined rules in Shariah. It is only when the rules are correctly applied that the outcome will be valid. Not all analogies are valid and accepted. Before we destruct your analogy of talāq on oaths and anger on insanity, we hereby present a brief to you about the rules of analogy in Shariah.
An analogy (qiyās) is conducted to search for a ruling about an issue which is not expressly mentioned in the Quran or Ahādīth.[1] Qiyās (analogical deduction) linguistically means to evaluate and examine one thing based on another.[2] [3] In the terminology of Usūl ul fiqh, it is applying the ruling of an Asl to a Fara’; the Asl refers to a known ruling and the Fara’ refers to an unknown ruling. [4] [5]
In the science of analogy, the illah (effective cause) of the Asl is derived and the Fara’ is analyzed to see if it fits all the characteristics of the Asl in order to determine whether the ruling of the Asl can be extended to the Fara’ or not. There are many laws that govern the science of Qiyās.

There are four components of Qiyās:
 
1.      Asl: This is an issue proven from the Quran, Ahādīth or Ijmaa (consensus)
2.      Fara’: This is a new issue not found in the Quran, Ahādīth or Ijmaa
3.      Illah: The cause of the ruling of the Asl.
4.      Hukm: The ruling given for the Fara’ based on the Asl after conducting the Qiyās.
 
There are 5 conditions for a Qiyās to be valid.
 
1.      The Qiyās cannot oppose a nas (express decree) :
Example: Can a woman travel with a group of women based on the analogy that she can travel with a mahram? Just as she is safe with a mahram, she is also safe with other women. This analogy is invalid as the prohibition of a woman travelling without a mahram is expressly stated in the Hadīth. [6]One therefore cannot apply any analogy on a woman travelling without a mahram.
 
2.     The Qiyās should not change the ruling of anything proven from the nas:
Example: There are four body parts that must be washed during wudhu; the arms, face, head and feet. This is based on the verse of the Holy Quran.[7] Therefore, to analogize wudhu on tayammum and say that niyyah is also compulsory in wudhu as it is in tayammum is incorrect. This is because adding the compulsion of niyyah to wudhu will be adding on the nas[8]which is impermissible.
 
3.     The Asl should not be contrary to Qiyās (Amre ta’abbudi/ khilāfe qiyās):
Example: If a person laughs aloud in salah, both his salah and wudhu will break and he will have to perform wudhu and salah again. We can understand the salah breaking, but why does the wudhu break? This is ‘contrary to Qiyās’- we cannot understand the reasoning behind it; but we accept it as this is the ruling mentioned in the nas.[9]Now, if someone backbites or sings in salah, can we analogize these issues on laughing in salah and conclude that backbiting and singing breaks one’s wudhu aswell? This analogy is incorrect as the ruling of wudhu breaking due to laughing is illogical. This cannot serve as an Asl for the other issues.
 
4.     The illah in the Qiyās should be based on a Sharī ruling, not a linguistic matter:
Example: The linguistic meaning of ‘Hajj’ is to travel. To say that it is compulsory for a person to do ‘Hajj’ (go to a certain place other than Makkah…) if he has enough money and the means to go is incorrect. It is incorrect because in the light of Shariah, only the journey to Makkah in the months of Hajj with the intention of performing Hajj is called ‘Hajj’. All other journeys do not fall under Shariah’s definition of Hajj.
 
5.     The ruling of the Fara’ should not be mentioned in the nusūs[10]:
Example: Allah Ta῾ālā instructs the believers in the Holy Quran not to come close to salāh after they have drunk alcohol. For a person to use this verse to say that it is permissible to drink alcohol before salah will be incorrect because Allah has prohibited alcohol as whole in another place in the Holy Quran.
 
 
Please note that the above five conditions are general conditions. Each of the components (Asl, Fara’, Hukm and Illah) all have certain requirements and conditions that must be fulfilled.
 
Below is an illustration to demonstrate the correct use of Qiyās: