Reply to Does ISLAM allow divorce? If so, under what conditions?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
I think previous posters have said this but I'll say it again: what people do, how hard a time they had in getting a divorce in other countries has no bearing on and is not a reflection of the religion itself. You keep confusing practice with the religion. Two entirely separate things. You can't rely on google stories and anecdotal evidence as your research for understanding the religion of Islam. If your goal is to find sad stories about Muslims, you can find it anywhere. However if your goal is to learn about Islam, you should stop relying on how it is practiced and learn the principles of Islam.[/quote]
Keeping aside the discussion of how the community can veer SO far away from what the religion prescribes, you must admit that there is precious little in the Islamic scriptures themselves that cover wife-initiated divorces.  Surah at-Talaq is directed exclusively at men and deals with husband-initiated divorces in very great detail, but there is nothing there, nothing at all about women-initiated divorces.  The right of divorce belongs to the "one holding the calf", i.e. the husband.

So if you want to talk about what the religion itself prescribes for women-initiated divorces, what exactly are your scriptural sources? The hadith about "give him back his garden?" The very general verses on "be nice to women?"  Not very much, don't you think?[/quote]

If you are seeking that linear equality in divorce rules of Islam, which is a western mindset, you will not find it. I think Islam is not interested in promoting this kind of linear equality; it is interested in promoting justice. Justice is deemed to be far more important and fair than linear equality because linear equality does not take into account the differences between men and women and their experiences.

The guidelines for divorce for men are spelled out more in the interest and for the protection of women. Divorce on a woman may be particularly hard and in fact, more hard for her than for the man considering she may not be able to support herself, earn the same wages even if she did work, have difficulty caring for children. As such, God in the Quran has said divorce is detestable to Him, but if man still insists of getting divorced, He outlines very clear rules to abide by so as to ensure the woman is treated fairly.

Divorce is not and should not be hard to get for a woman in Islam. Don't look to practice of Muslim countries as evidence of what Islam truly permits because so many people and countries have deviated far from Islam after Prophet Muhammad died.

Divorce laws, if not addressed as much for women in the Quran, or if they appear to be more rigid for women, is also to protect the woman as well as the man's interest. If divorce were made easy for women, it may be a right that is exercised too liberally, too frivolously and this may present a hardship to men. Remember the man must pay for the entire wedding, the mahr, the care of the woman, all his children, and he has many other financial obligations that the woman does not have in Islam. Thus, divorce is absolutely allowed for women, but not to be taken lightly.[/quote]

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