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Question:
My wife took the degree of Khula from City Court Karachi on 25th August 2023, without my consent.
I appeared in court. Answered all the allegations leveled by my wife. Despite the judge's decision, I neither withdrew the dowry nor accepted the demand for divorce. Also I have not signed any Khula or Talaq papers or degrees. I was also present in the court on the day of judgment of Khula case 25th August 2023 and I flatly refused to give or take Khula.
Now my question is whether the decision of the judge alone has caused the eviction or not?
Answer:
Assalamualikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
Khula refers to the wife returning the Mahr amount or any monetary value to the husband in exchange of the husband issuing a divorce to the wife. For the Khula to be valid, the husband's consent and approval of a Khula in exchange for a divorce to the wife is necessary. Hence, if you have not consented to the Khula, the Khula will not be effective and your marriage will remain intact.
As Allah swt states in the Qur’an:
“…It is not lawful for husbands to take anything back which they have given them except when both parties fear that they may not be able to follow the limits set by Allah; then if you fear that they both will not be able to keep the limits of Allah, there is no blame if, by mutual agreement the wife compensates the husband to obtain divorce. These are the limits set by Allah; do not transgress them, and those who transgress the limits of Allah are the wrongdoers.” (Surah Al-Baqara: 229)
From the above ayah it is clear that Khula can only be carried out with the consent and agreement of both the husband and wife. The wife or even the judge of a court (like the one you mentioned) does not have the jurisdiction to enforce Khula without the consent of her husband.
However, Islam has given this right to a women whose husband is not fulfilling even her basic rights, like he's not providing her food, clothes, a place to stay etc or he's not able to fulfill her marital rights that she can ask for divorce and an Islamic Judge can forcefully terminate the marriage, after validating the circumstances and investigating the situation and giving some time to husband to see if he starts providing these Sharia-given rights to his wife.
And Allah knows best
Mufti Umer Farooq Saleem