Question Summary:
Talaq in anger

Question Detail:

 
I have 6 children; ...... and have been married for over 20 years now. For the past 15 years we have been victims of black-magic especially my wife who has suffered episodes of possession, and are being treated, this has troubled us as a family regularly and caused me and my family a lot of stress, anguish and pain, this has occasionally led to arguments. It’s difficult to explain what we have and are going through all I can say is that me and my family have suffered immensely, but we always come together to support one another.
On .......my wife and I had a verbal argument we both raised voices and said things to each other were I began to throw my wife’s belongings out the bedroom for no reason I wanted her out the bedroom it was like we lost our minds and it was then when I uttered the words “I give you talaq” 3 times in one go.
I request you to clear my issue; I had no intention nor ever wanted to divorce, all of this happened in the state of extreme anger where I felt I was not in the right frame of mind and was not in control of what I was saying and not being able to stop the words. To be truthful I’m not even sure how these words were even uttered from my mouth. I cant even remeber the whole situation. I do not wish to leave or be separate from my wife and children.
I believe that I have not divorced my wife, please clarify:
Was the divorce I gave valid because it was given in such an extreme condition of anger where I nearly lost my senses and was not aware of what I was doing?
Do I have a chance of continuing my marriage?
Can I continue to live with my family?
Does this count as 1 or 3?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh
You state that you divorced your wife thrice in extreme anger. You state you cannot understand how you uttered the words of divorce and you were not in the right frame of mind. The issue of extreme anger leading to temporary insanity has been discussed by the scholars in the past. Herewith follows the ruling:
 
Anger is categorised into 3 stages:
 
1.      The person in anger is in total control of his state of affairs and knows what he is doing and saying.
Talaq given in such a state is valid.
 
2.      Anger leads the person to insanity and the mental thinking is distorted.
Talaq is invalid in such a state.
 
3.      One that is between the above mentioned two stages. i.e. one is not in total control of his state of affairs, but does not reach the stage of insanity.
There is a difference of opinion on Talaq given in this state, but the most correct opinion is that Talaq will be valid. 
 
We understand from the above ruling that divorce issued in the state of anger will be invalid if one reached the state of insanity. Divorce is a matter of Halal and Haraam. One should be weary and extra conscious when making decisions regarding Halal and Haram. You should honestly question yourself and think carefully whether you did lose your senses and reached the state of insanity when you issued the divorce or not. We advise you to consult with a reliable Mufti/Alim/Islamic Organization who will guide you in making a decision in this regard. If you were honestly in your senses and understood that you were divorcing your wife, then three divorces will be issued and you’ll cannot stay as husband and wife anymore.
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Ismail Desai,
Darul Iftaa
 
Checked and Approved,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
 
 
 
 
1 قلت : وللحافظ ابن القيم الحنبلي رسالة في طلاق الغضبان قال فيها : إنه على ثلاثة أقسام : أحدها أن يحصل له مبادئ الغضب بحيث لا يتغير عقله ويعلم ما يقول ويقصده ، وهذا لا إشكال فيه .
والثاني أن يبلغ النهاية فلا يعلم ما يقول ولا يريده ، فهذا لا ريب أنه لا ينفذ شيء من أقواله .
الثالث من توسط بين المرتبتين بحيث لم يصر كالمجنون فهذا محل النظر ، والأدلة على عدم نفوذ أقواله .ا هـ .
ملخصا من شرح الغاية الحنبلية ، لكن أشار في الغاية إلى مخالفته في الثالث حيث قال : ويقع الطلاق من غضب خلافا لابن القيم ا هـ وهذا الموافق عندنا لما مر في المدهوش (رد المحتار، ص 244، ج 3)