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Fatwa ID: 23068
Title: Phone nikah (marriage)
Category: Family and Personal Affairs
Scholar: Dr. Main Khalid Al-Qudah
Date: 05/27/2008
Question

I got married by phone nikah (wedding) and then travelled to Pakistan from Australia a month later, after the phone nikah ceremony. He did not support me or keep promises he made to pay expenses, like just basic needs. We have now been living apart for two months and I have chosen to seek a divorce. Is this sufficient grounds for divorce? Do I need to wait out the 'iddat though I am too old to have children and there is no chance of pregnancy? How do I get a divorce? Please advise me; I am a new convert Muslim.

 

Jazak Allah khair,

Dina Hashmi

Answer

If you consummated the marriage by having sexual intercourse, even just one time, then you must count three lunar months, beginning from the date of the divorce, as a waiting period.

 

You can get divorced by asking your husband to divorce you. If he does not agree to do so, and you believe that you cannot stay with him at any cost, then you should apply for a divorce through an Islamic court. The judge will issue a divorce verdict if he believes you deserve it.

 

Additionally, it is not sufficient for the validity of the marriage contract to conduct it over the phone, since there is a reasonable possibility of an "identity theft" scheme in these contracts, unless both phones used were video phones, in which each party was visible to and could be fully identified by the other party.