Can a Husband Reconcile After Giving Multiple Divorces?

Revocable Divorce and Reconciliation: A Guide for Muslim Couples

Question: A sister has asked a question: Her husband, who is abroad, gave her not three but five divorces in one instance out of anger. However, the next day he said that he was angry and did not mean to divorce her. The sister’s family insists that all three divorces have taken place, but the sister believes that only one has occurred. Her husband also consulted scholars who said that only one divorce has taken place. Now her husband says that he wants to reconcile, but he is abroad. The sister wants to know if it is sufficient for him to just say that he wants to reconcile?

Answer: If a woman’s husband, who is abroad, gave her five divorces in one instance over the phone, only one divorce will take effect because a person can only give one divorce at a time according to the correct evidence. 

Since this will be considered one divorce, it is a revocable divorce, and the husband has the right to reconcile during the ‘iddah (waiting period). To reconcile, he should verbally tell his wife that he wants to reconcile, and by saying this, the reconciliation will take place.

✍ Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi (may Allah protect him)

❪Jeddah Dawah Center, Al-Salamah – Saudi Arabia❫