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1276 Is it right for society to look upon a divorced woman in a bad light?

People think of her as an impure woman and make her feel like it is her fault? When it is not her fault but was meant to be, the will of Allah? It was the husband who mistreated and divorced her. People don’t mind unmarried women even if they impure as long as they don’t have the tag of marriage on them.

Could you put some light on this matter. Does a person get Sawab for marrying a divorcee?
One must remember the social climate in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) lived and preached Islam. At that time, women were not even treated as humans. Men would marry women and divorce them days later. Then they would re-marry the same woman, arguing that the original divorce was made in anger. This left women unsure of their relationship and kept them in a constant state of insecurity.

Islam laid down strict rules regarding the procedure of divorce which aimed to protect the interests of the woman. It also ensured that after divorce, their needs would be fulfilled and that society would not frown on their position.

If people do look differently towards divorced women, then it is due to cultural reasons rather than religious ones. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never treated divorced women indifferently, and as a Sunnah for his Ummah, he himself married divorcees. Divorce is the most disliked permissible act in Islam, but this does not mean we should treat the individuals in question as social outcasts.

(Answered by: Imams at Islamic Centre, Leicester, UK)

(Verified by: Hafiz Mohammed Akhtar)
Category (Marriage / Divorce)
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