Topic:
The Ruling on Divorce When said as a joke
(No-42096)
our marriage happened recently, and Alhamdulillah there is a lot of love between us. One day I called my wife during the day and praised her, telling her that her voice is very beautiful and other similar compliments. I spoke to her as if she were a third person and jokingly asked, "Would you marry me?" even though she is already my wife. In a playful and loving way, I told her that when I came home, I would meet her.
Later that night, when we were together and talking, I asked her, "You are the same person I was talking to on the phone this morning, right?" We continued joking around.
Also, one of my friends is currently going through a divorce issue, so that topic was somewhere in the back of my mind. In our society, when people want to say they are leaving or giving up something, they sometimes casually say, "I divorce this thing" or similar expressions.
While talking to my wife, I wanted to jokingly say something like, "Let me leave my wife and marry you," even though I was talking to my wife herself and was referring to marrying her. However, by mistake—and I myself do not know how—it slipped from my mouth unintentionally: i said mai apni begam ko talaq data hon phr tum sa shadi krta hon.
I had absolutely no intention to this word . I was simply trying to make her happy and was joking with her. The word just came out of my mouth accidentally, and I had no control over it. Therefore, I would like guidance regarding this matter.
It is important to know that divorce is one of those matters that takes effect even when uttered as a joke. Furthermore, when explicit words of divorce are used, the presence or absence of intention makes no difference.
Therefore, in the situation you have described, when you said to your wife "I divorce my wife," one revocable divorce (طلاق رجعی) took effect upon her. And when you then said "then I will marry you," this constituted a return (رجوع') to the marriage.
Going forward, Now you have only two divorces remaining.
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دلائل:
سنن أبي داود: (رقم الحديث: 2194، 516/3، ط: دار الرسالة العالمية)
حدَّثنا القعنبيُّ، حدَّثنا عبدُ العزيز - يعني ابنَ محمد - عن عبد الرحمن بنِ حبيبٍ، عن عطاءِ بنِ أبي رباح، عن ابنِ ماهك، عن أبي هريرة أن رسولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «ثلاثٌ جدُّهنَّ جدٌّ، وهزلُهنَّ جدٌّ: النكاحُ، والطلاقُ، والرَّجعةُ».
Allah the Almighty knows best.
Darul ifta Al-Ikhlas, Karachi.