Muslim men who resort to triple talaq will face social boycott, said the All India Muslim Personal law Board (AIMPlB) in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on Monday. This is a major shift in stand by the Muslim body ahead of the SC pronouncing its decision on the fate of the uncodified practice. The Board further informed the apex court that an advisory has been issued asking the Quazis to advise Muslim bridegrooms not to annul the marital bond with three pronouncements of talaq in one sitting as it is “undesirable” according to Islam.
Framing a new set of guidelines that will govern future marriages and divorce among Muslims, the AIMPlB affidavit stated that if a dispute arises between the husband and the wife, it should be settled through “mutual interaction”.
This will be the first step under a newly-released code of conduct for the husband and wife according to the tenets of the Sharia. If the issue is not resolved mutually, then the elders of both families should try to settle the dispute amicably, it said.
“In the second step, if the dispute is not resolved mutually and no desired results are achieved, then there may be a temporary withdrawal. In case of failure of the first two steps, then senior members of both families should try to reconcile or one arbitrator may be appointed from each side for resolution of the differences,” said the fresh guidelines contained in the affidavit filed by AIMPlB secretary Mohammad Fazlurrahim.
In order to discourage triple talaq as a form of divorce, the Board decided that henceforth any Muslim man who resorts to saying talaq thrice in one sitting will face “social boycott”. This follows the decision taken by the AIMPlB prior to May 18, when the SC reserved its orders on a bunch of petitions challenging triple talaq to be unconstitutional and an affront to gender justice and women’s dignity as enshrined in the Constitution.
The Board reiterated that the practice of triple talaq finds no place in either the Shariat or other Islamic laws and hence it is to be “strongly condemned”. On the last day of hearing before the SC, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented AIMPlB, said that the woman (bride) shall be given the option to opt out of triple talaq and the husband cannot divorce her through this method once this condition is placed in the nikaahnama (marriage contract).
Issuing an advisory to this effect, the AIMPlB said, “At the time of performing nikaah (marriage), the person performing the nikaah will advise both the bridegroom/man and the bride/woman to incorporate a condition in the nikaahnama to exclude resorting to pronouncement of talaq thrice by the husband in one sitting.”
The AIMPlB said it would start a “grand public movement” to ensure that the people desist from pronouncing divorce without any reason and that in case of necessity, only one divorce should be resorted to and in any case pronouncing talaq thrice in one go should not be resorted to.
This message will be conveyed to all segments of Muslims, especially the poor sections with the help of Imams and orators of the mosques, the AIMPlB said.
Besides, the advisory shall be published on the AIMPlB website, its publications and social media platforms.