Islamic Perspective of Instant Triple Talaq:

A Critical Review of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act 2019

Shahnaz

 

Abstract: Talaq-e-biddat or instant triple talaq1 continues to be the most controversial issue that informs Muslim personal law. There is a divergence of opinion amongst the Sunni2 jurists regarding the legal consequences of the instant triple talaq. While some jurists are of the opinion that instant triple talaq severs the marital tie instantaneously and leaves no scope for reconciliation and, therefore, warrants halala.3 Others believe that the instant triple talaq does not operate instantaneously but can be treated as one talaq only leaving scope for reconciliation without observing halala. Amidst this divergence of opinion, the Apex Court of India in Shayara Bano v Union of India has declared instant triple talaq unconstitutional violating the right to equality. The judgment was followed by the legislation titled: The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019. However, instead of addressing the basic issue of whether instant triple talaq amounts to three talaqs or single talaq only, the Act declares triple talaq invalid and makes it a punishable offence. In fact, the definition of talaq itself in the Act has generated new issues vis-a-vis the legal consequences of talaq in general. This article examines the historical evolution of instant triple talaq analysing various contentious issues allied to it. This historical aspect leads the way to analyse the Act from the Islamic perspectives. The article concludes that the definition of irrevocable talaq should be made more explicit and the penal provisions prescribed by the Act should be omitted as they are inconsistent with Islamic law.