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‘Iddah not necessary when remarrying the same husband after doubtful marriage

Question

Assalamualaikum Unfortunately this cannot be my last question about this topic as your recent answers have created more complexities. Based on the answers you gave me in this link https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/2525663, it is not clear and consistent if one should go through an iddah lasting 3 menstrual cycle if they wish to remarry the same person after an invalid marriage.In one you have said she should and the otehr you said she doesn't. Also I did not understand from any of the answers you gave me before I renewed my nikkah that I have to go through a divorce first. I don't know if my wali and husband will be willing to go through this the second time and I live in a foreign land where i have only 3 relatives who are in no position to accomodate me, where am I supposed to go after divorce and during iddah? this will create a lot of fitna for the entire family. I want to be with my husband and in the case my marriage is valid then this will be our third divorce and I won't be able to get back with him unless I marry someone else. I had a wali in my first nikkah and it was my father who gave permission to my maternal uncle to represent him but my point of doubt was regarding my father himself as his knowledge of deen and what a sound aqeedah is, was questionable. Majorly, his conversations on politics which made me feel he supports democracy and we all know it is Allah's law that should only be implemented, however I don't have proof regarding what his real views are, so to be on the safe side I felt i should have a different wali. I have decided to not go through this divorce as I am scared to do anything without a legal verdict on my case from a true scholar. In the event my doubts are true then I don't want to be committing haram by staying and in the case it is not true then my marriage will be terminated once and for all if i decide to go through the divorce to renew my nikkah. PLEASE HELP AND PRAY FOR ME.

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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If your father, who is your Wali (legal guardian), had authorized your maternal uncle to act as your Wali and he conducted your marriage contract based on this authorization in the presence of the two witnesses, then the marriage is valid and there is no need to annul it in the first place. So live with your husband in kindness and repel such devilish whisperings from your mind.

We do not know what you mean exactly by saying that your father believes in democracy. However, we say that as long as the person's profession of Islam is confirmed with certainty, he cannot be declared to be a disbeliever except with certainty. There is a difference between believing in democracy in the sense that people have the right to issue legislation and govern their affairs even without the Sharee‘ah, which is disbelief, and believing in the permissibility of voting in elections in pursuit of an interest in the Sharee‘ah. Many scholars held that such voting is permissible based on the general need to defend the good against evil. If your father believes in democracy in that sense, then it is not considered disbelief. It is important to know that there are conditions governing Takfeer (declaring a Muslim individual or group to be disbelievers) as underlined in Fataawa 8106 and 87963.

As to the doubtful marriage and whether the woman should observe ‘Iddah before remarrying the same husband, scholars held different views concerning this. The answers in the two Fataawa, to which you referred in the question, are not contradictory; rather, we mentioned in one of them that some scholars held that a woman in that case is not obliged to observe ‘Iddah and that she does not need to verify that she is not pregnant. It is a strong scholarly view and there is no harm, Allaah Willing, in following it. This matter is subject to Ijtihaad (personal reasoning) given the absence of a decisive text that cannot be counterargued. Please refer to Fatwa 86301.

Allaah Knows best.

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