When Divorce Becomes the Last Resort – Masjid An Nabawi Friday Sermon 17 July 2026 (3/2/1448 AH)
Today, on 17 July 2026, Friday khutbah and prayer at Masjid Al Nabawi were delivered by His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Hussein Al-Sheikh, Imam and preacher of the Prophet’s Mosque. His subject was marriage, specifically, how much care Islamic law takes to protect it. He opened by describing the marital bond as one built on love and mercy, with rulings designed to hold the family together and protect everyone in it. The Imam of Masjid An Nabwi said that the Divorce sits outside that design. It is a last resort, permitted only once reconciliation has genuinely failed and harm continues.
Not a Gateway, a Last Door
Sheikh Al-Sheikh clarified that Divorce is permissible only after all efforts at reconciliation have been exhausted, highlighting its role as a last resort to prevent harm and preserve family stability.
The Imam of Prophet’s Mosque cited the Quran: “And live with them in kindness. For if you dislike them — perhaps you dislike a thing, and Allah makes therein much good” (Quran 4:19).
Sheikh Al-Sheikh paired that with a hadith: “A believing man should not hate a believing woman; if he dislikes one of her traits, he will surely find another that pleases him.” He explained that patience, overlooking flaws, and recognizing good foster hope and reassurance before considering Divorce.
Getting Divorce Right — and Getting It Wrong
He then walked through what a permissible divorce actually looks like: one pronouncement, given during a period of purity in which the couple has not had intercourse, or given while the wife is pregnant. After that, she stays in the marital home, time built in deliberately, in case the husband’s heart changes and the marriage can still be saved.
Then the Imam named what crosses the line. Three divorces pronounced in a single sentence or sitting. A divorce issued during menstruation. A divorce issued during a period of purity in which intercourse has already taken place. Each of these, he warned, oversteps limits God set deliberately.
He warned against trivializing Divorce by using it as a casual oath or leverage, underscoring that it is a serious matter with significant consequences.
Sheikh Al-Sheikh called this out directly, citing: “These are the limits of Allah, so do not transgress them. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah — it is those who are the wrongdoers” (Quran 2:229).
The Closing Advice
The Imam of Masjid Al-Nabawi ended with a plea for patience and deliberation on both sides, emphasizing that hasty reactions and decisions made in the heat of the moment can lead to regret. He urged wives to avoid seeking Divorce when the marriage is otherwise stable, encouraging feelings of responsibility and carefulness.
He also cited the Prophet’s ﷺ words: “Any woman who asks her husband for a divorce without a valid reason, then the scent of Paradise is forbidden to her” — a hadith authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Hibban, and others.
