In the religion of Islam, the man has the primary right to divorce. God almighty says
in the holly Qur’an:
"And if you divorce them before you have touched (had a sexual
relation with) them, and you have appointed unto them the Mahr (bridal
money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), then pay
half of that (Mahr), unless they (the women) agree to forego it,
or he (the husband) in whose hands is the marriage tie, agrees to
forego and give her full appointed Mahr. And to forego and give (her the
full Mahr) is nearer to At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness). And do not
forget liberality between yourselves. Truly, Allah is All-Seer of what
you do." (Qur’an 2:237)
This may seem unjust at first glance, but Allah the
All-Mighty has given injunctions based on men and women's different
temperaments. The woman is controlled more by her emotions than by reason, and
this is obviously an asset in the home. Her tender nature and ability to
sacrifice her own comfort for the sake of her child makes her a better parent
than the man. In a situation of marital conflict, her emotional nature will be
more inclined to exaggerate the seriousness of the conflict and to thus
instigate divorce. The man will be more inclined to think calmly about the
situation before pronouncing judgment. Neither of these characteristics is
inferior or superior to the other; both are complementary and best suited to
the roles the sexes have to play. In order to mitigate rash conduct by the
husband, the Qur’an and the Sunnah (sayings and deeds of prophet Muhamed « PBUH »)have
made provisions for cases when the man does pronounce divorce but then regrets
it. The divorce never becomes binding immediately but gives him a period of
three lunar months (the woman's 'Iddah or waiting period) in which he can
either endorse the divorce or revoke it and seek reconciliation.
It should be remembered that a woman is not helpless in the
matter of divorce as is widely believed. Although she cannot pronounce divorce
like a man, for the reasons of her temperament already given, she can obtain
one through a Qadi or arbitrator. This process is called Khul ', and the woman
asks for divorce in lieu of returning her bridal money or any other gift to the
husband.
In the Western world today, the high rates of divorce are
widely attributed, among other things, to the financial independence of women
and the ease with which they can obtain divorce for flimsy reasons. The Islamic
ethos encourages men and women to save their marriage for the sake of their
children and to uphold the family institution.
