1232- Issue (1); He said: (And if the woman is hateful towards the man, and dislikes to deny him what she would be sinful for denying him, there is no harm in her ransoming herself from him.)
The entirety of the matter is that when a woman dislikes her husband, due to his physical appearance, his character, his religion, his old age, his weakness, or anything similar, and she fears that she will not fulfill the right of Allah, the Exalted, in obeying him, it is permissible for her to seek Khul' (divorce initiated by the wife) for a compensation [2] by which she ransoms herself from him, due to the saying of Allah, the Exalted: {But if you fear that they will not maintain the bounds of Allah, then there is no sin upon them in that which she ransoms herself with} [3]. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out for the Morning prayer and found Habibah bint Sahl at his door in the darkness. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "What is your affair?" She said: "Neither I nor Thabit [can live together]," referring to her husband. When Thabit came, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to him: "This is Habibah bint Sahl, and she has mentioned [4] what Allah has willed for her to mention." Habibah said: "O Messenger of Allah, everything he gave me is with me." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to Thabit ibn Qays: "Take from her." So he took from her, and she remained among her family. This is a sound (Sahih) Hadith with an established chain of narration, reported by the Imams Malik, Ahmad, and others [5]. In a narration by Al-Bukhari, he said: The wife of Thabit ibn Qays came to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I do not find fault with Thabit regarding his religion or character, but I fear Kufr (unbelief)." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "Will you return his garden to him?" She said: "Yes." So she returned it to him [6].
(1) Before this issue, a heading appeared in B and M: "Book of Khul'". It previously appeared on page 220, under the heading: "Book of Women's Conduct and Khul'". (2) In A: "for a compensation". (3) Surah Al-Baqarah 229. (4) In B and M: "has already mentioned". (5) Reported by Imam Malik in: The Chapter on what has been narrated regarding Khul', from the Book of Divorce, Al-Muwatta 2/564; and Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 4/3; and Al-Bukhari in: The Chapter on Khul' and how divorce occurs within it, from the Book of Divorce, Sahih Al-Bukhari 7/60; and Abu Dawood in: The Chapter on Khul', from the Book of Divorce, Sunan Abi Dawood 1/516; and An-Nasa'i in: The Chapter on what has been narrated regarding Khul', from the Book of Divorce, Al-Mujtaba 6/138, 139; and Ibn Majah in: The Chapter on the Khul' woman who takes back what she gave him, from the Book of Divorce, Sunan Ibn Majah 1/663; and Ad-Darimi in: The Chapter on Khul', Sunan Ad-Darimi 2/163. (6) In the original and A: "returned".
