What is the wisdom behind not having to provide maintenance to an ex-wife?

Maintenance for Divorced Women:
Shah Banu Case

The Supreme Court of India recently ruled in the SHAH BANU case that a divorced woman is entitled under Islamic Law to maintenance beyond die period of iddat and until her remarriage. The case has caused a furore in India as die judgement is contrary to Islamic Law.

Simply put, the Islamic Law position is that a divorced woman is not entitled to maintenance beyond the period of iddat. Let us examine this briefly in the light of the Qur'an and Hadis.

Verse 6 of SURAH TALAAQ provides that:
"If the (DIVORCED) women are pregnant, then maintain them UNTIL delivery of their child."

Verse 4 of the surah has already provided that the iddat (mandatory waiting period) for pregnant divorced women is until delivery of child. This verse (verse 6) clearly by the use of the word "UNTIL" limits the period of maintenance to the time of delivery. It follows that if pregnant women are to be maintained until expiry of their iddat (at delivery), then others are likewise to be maintained until expiry of their iddat. The periods of iddat for menstruating or non-menstruating women have been specified in the Qur'an. (S 2 : V 228; S 65 : V 4; S 65 : V 4)

The absence of an obligation to maintain after the expiry of iddat is supported by authentic HADIS, notably that of FATIMA BINT QAIS. The latter was divorced by her husband, and the Holy Prophet (SAW) ruled that she was not entitled to maintenance. (SAHIH MUSLIM: KITABUT TALAAQ).

In the result, no jurist has ever held that, a divorced woman is entitled to maintenance after expiry of iddat. On the contrary, and in the case of divorce of the category BAAIN, many jurists have held that only pregnant women are entitled to maintenance for the iddat period: non-pregnant women are excluded.

The Supreme Court judgement according to press reports relied on verse 241 of SURAH BAQARAH, which was translated as follows: "FOR DIVORCED WOMEN, MAINTENANCE SHOULD BE PROVIDED ON REASONABLE SCALE. THIS IS A DUTY TO THE RIGHTEOUS."

The word MATA in the verse means "BENEFIT" which includes maintenance within its meaning. (See MAARIFUL QUR'AN) The verse therefore lays down a general principle relating to the benefit due to all divorced women in the different circumstances as a consequence of divorce. Hence, the use of the wider word "benefit" (MATA) and not the specific word NAFAQA (maintenance). The benefit due to divorced women in the different circumstances is as follows: 1. If no dowry has been fixed and no sexual intercourse has taken place prior to divorce, then the husband is only obliged to give some benefit or gifts to the wife. (S2:V236).
2. If a dowry has been fixed and no sexual intercourse has taken place prior to divorce, then the husband is only obliged to give the wife half the amount of the dowry. (S 2 : V 237)
3. If both a dowry has been fixed and sexual intercourse took place prior to divorce, then the full dowry must be given to the wife. (S 4 : V 4) 4. If no dowry has been fixed, but sexual intercourse took place prior to divorce, then the dowry customarily fixed in the family of the wife (MEHR MITHL) must be given to the wife.
5. In the cases of 3 and 4, the wife is obliged to undergo IDDAT and is therefore entitled to maintenance until expiry of the iddat There is obviously no iddat (and hence, no maintenance) in cases 1 and 2.

It follows that the judgement of the Indian Supreme Court is wrong. The Court ought to have heard expert evidence on the issue from qualified Muslim jurists. It is not clear why this was not done. Instead, the judges endeavored to give judgement on an issue in which they have no expertise. The result was a misinterpretation of Islamic Law.

Now, what are the rational imperatives? Divorce terminates a marriage whereupon the parties have no relationship whatsoever with each other. There is therefore no reason in logic as to why the husband must continue maintaining the wife after divorce. Reason demands that a person must be free of obligations. For an obligation to arise, there must be valid cause. What cause exists in such a case?

In Islamic law, the obligation to maintain the divorced woman after the expiry of the iddat would in the absence of her remarriage vest in her near relatives based on the priorities fixed in inheritance. In any event, and if she is unable to maintain herself, the Islamic State is obliged to do so.

Some argue that the divorced woman suffers for want of maintenance, as her near relatives invariably fail to maintain her. The answer is why must the husband be penalized in such event contrary to Quranic Law. Cases of hardship do arise, one undoubtedly appreciates, in a non-Muslim country where Islamic Law is not applied. However, if Muslims implement Islamic Law sincerely and honestly, all problems would be resolved. To do this, a strong and deep sense of Accountability is required. Unfortunately, this to a large extent is absent.