What is Talaq-e-Hasan? How is it different from triple talaq?

How is Talaq-e-Hasan different from Triple Talaq, Khula, Mubaraat and Talaq-e-Ahsan? Why Supreme Court of India state the practice of Talaq-e-Hasan different from Triple Talaq? Read it now

The Supreme Court of India has stated the practice of divorce in Muslims through 'Talaq-e-Hasan' is not similar to triple talaq and the women also have an option of 'Khula'.

In Islam, talaq and khula are two terms for divorce for men and women respectively. A man can part ways through 'talaq' while a woman can separate with her husband through 'Khula'.

A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and SK Kaul stated if wife and husband can not live together, it can also grant a divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown under 142nd Article of the Indian Constitution.

Also, read | Talaq-e-Hasan not akin to triple talaq, women have the option of 'khula': SC

What is Talaq-e-Hasan?

A Muslim man can divorce his wife by uttering Talaq once for three months. This practice is called Talaq-e-Hasan. If couples don't live together, divorce gets formalised after the third utterance in the third month.

However, if co-habitation occurs after the first or second utterance, parties are assumed to have reconciled and the first or second utterance becomes null and void.

Post the divorce, the wife is not allowed to remarry for a specific time. This period is called Iddat. The objective of iddat is to ensure that the woman is not carrying any offspring in her womb. 

Husband and wife can not marry each after the third month of abstinence or 'Third Iddat'. With this, a woman has to marry another man and divorce that man. After divorcing her second husband, she can marry her former or first husband.

What is Triple Talaq?

Triple Talaq is known as Talaq-e-Biddat and is the most controversial divorce practice among a few sects of Muslims. In this, talaq is uttered thrice consecutively and the marriage is invalid instantly.

Many Muslims disagree with Talaq-e-Biddat and consider it irregular or highly dislikable. It is said that there is no mention of this form of Talaq in the Quran, and is an innovation after Prophet Mohammed's demise.

A few other categories of divorce in Islam

Khula and Mubaraat are two other types of divorce prevalent among Muslim women. Mubaraat is a conventional divorce with mutual consent, while Khula is at the instant on the wife's will.

How Khula is different from Mubaraat?

In Khula, a wife desires a separation but in the Mubaraat, both sides desire separation and there is mutual consent involved.

What is Talaq-e-Ahsan?

Talaq-e-Ahsan is another form of divorce by the husband. Here, a husband asks for talaq once, and after 90 days or three menstrual cycles, a woman can marry another man. Although, divorce can be withdrawn if the couple resumes their marital relations within these three months.


Written by - Zuhair Zaidi