She got a legal divorce but not an Islamic one
Fatwa No: 135168

Question

Selam aleikoem, please answer on my question. I 'm conferted muslima who married 10 years ago to a muslim from Senegal. We were married for 8 years and a half for the mosque and 2 years later we married for the commune. Since 2009 we devorce for the law and we live separted. This man is still coming to my house and is telling me that our marriege is not ended yet islamique way, altough we didn't have sexual contact since 7 month. I have tried to tell him that our marriege is over, but he said that it is not. He claims because his uncle has a mosque in his home country that his knowledge is more than anyone. Please give me the right advice in this matter so I can show him and finish this matter once and for all.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

 

First of all, we thank and praise Allaah Who guided you to Islam and we ask Him to make you firm and steadfast on His Religion until the Day you meet Him.

We advise you to seek beneficial knowledge, perform good deeds and befriend righteous and pious women, as these are the best things that help a Muslim woman remain steadfast on her religion.

As regards your question, a wife does not get out the marriage bond with her husband unless he divorces her or a judge grants her divorce in an Islamic court. As regards what you called divorce according to the law, if it is not accompanied by uttering the word divorce by the husband and the like, then it does not take place; for more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 90056.

Moreover, the separation between the spouses is not considered a divorce as we clarified in Fataawa 89825 and 82732.

Based upon the above, and based on what happened in reality, you can know whether or not the bond of marriage between both of you still exists.

In case there are any disputes about this, then we advise you to take the case to any trustworthy Islamic center in your country.

Allaah Knows best.

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