A Whispered Pronouncement of Divorce Does Not Count

Question :

There is a man who often whispers the pronouncement of divorce upon his wife; and often, he speaks with her about a certain matter and he finds himself saying: "You are Taliq," secretly to himself, without saying it aloud. This has caused him much doubt within himself, what should he do?

Answer:

Before answering this question, I would like to make clear to my brother who asked the question and to others, that Allah, Most High says:

"Surely, Shaitan (Satan) is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his Hizh (followers) that they may hecome the dwellers of the blazing Fire."

So the devil attacks the heart, causing worry and mental distress, making his life unhappy. Listen to the Words of Allah, Most High:

"Secret counsels (conspiracies) are only from Shaitan (Satan), in order that he may cause grief to the believers. But he cannot harm them in the least, except as A Allah permits And in Allah let the believers put their trust.

It should be clear to you that Satan ardently pursues those things which make a person sad, just as he pursues those things which corrupt one's religion. The way for man to be safe from him is to turn to his Lord with truth and sincerity, and to seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, in accordance with the Words of Him, Most High:
"And if an evil whisper from Shaitan (Satan) tries to turn you away (from doing good), then seek refuge in Allah. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower."

He should seek protection with Allah, the Almighty, the All- Powerful, so that He may protect him against this devil, who is his enemy. If he seeks refuge with Allah from him, and turns to his Lord in truth, and if he himself shuns the devil, as if this whispering never existed, then Allah, Most Glorified, Most High will remove it from him.

My advice to this brother who suffers from this whispering that encourages him to divorce his wife, is to pay no heed to it at all and to completely shun it. And if he feels anger within himself, then let him seek shelter with Allah from the accursed Satan, so that Allah may remove it from him.

As for the legal view, the divorce does not occur due to this whispering, based on the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
"Indeed Allah disregards for my community what occurs within themselves, as long as they do not act upon it nor utter it."

So what a person says to himself is not considered anything. If such uttering is about divorce, then it is not counted, even though he made the intention to himself to divorce, it would not be a divorce even if he pronounced it, for example, saying: "My wife is divorced."

Rather, the divorce uttered by one who suffers from this whispering is not counted even though he pronounced it with his tongue, if it was without the intention, because this pronouncement by his tongue comes from the whisperer. without intention, and without desire. Rather he is imposed by coercion upon him and being forced to do it, due to the strength of the impulse and the lack of ability to prevent it. The Prophet ﷺ said:
"There is no divorce in (cases of) Ighlay (coercion)."

Therefore, if he did not truly intend it with a calm desire, then such divorce is not counted. This is something which occurs in spite of him, without him intending or choosing it, so divorce does not occur as a result of it.

Some people who are put to trial by this have told me: As long as I am tired and worried, I will divorce, so he divorces by his true desire in order to be free from this (whispering) which he finds within himself. This is a great mistake, and Satan desires nothing from the son of Adam but such as this to split up him and his wife, especially if they have children.

So the important thing is that a person should reject all of these doubts about the past, and pay no regard to them and shun them, so that they will cease by the permission of Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.