Does a wife divorce herself by saying "I am divorced from you" or when her husband delegates the authority to her, she says "You are divorced"?

Chapter on Explicit Divorce and Others

Al-Mughni

Book of Divorce

Book 39 · Issue 1 · Bab 2

Open in Qurani

Primary text

The wife is not divorced in these instances. This opinion is held by Al-Athram, Ibn Abbas, Al-Thawri, Abu Ubayd, the Ashab al-Ra'y (People of Opinion), and Ibn al-Mundhir. This is also narrated from Uthman ibn Affan. The rationale is that the man's statement, "I am divorced from you," or the delegation of authority followed by her statement, does not constitute a valid pronouncement of divorce upon the husband because the husband is not the proper subject (mahall) for the addition of a divorce pronouncement unless he intends it. Unlike the wife, the husband is the owner (malik) in the marriage contract, and the removal of ownership (divorce) cannot be initiated by adding the removal statement to the owner, similar to manumission (al-'itq). Furthermore, if he said, "I am divorced" without specifying "from you," it would not occur, unlike the wife.

Supporting text

Malik and Al-Shafi'i hold that divorce occurs if the husband intended it. A similar view is narrated from Umar, Ibn Mas'ud, 'Ata', Al-Nakha'i, Al-Qasim, and Ishaq. Their evidence is that divorce is the dissolution of marriage, which is shared between the two parties, so if it is valid regarding one, it is valid regarding the other.