In Islam, ‘khul’ is when a woman wants a divorce against her husband’s will. A way of obtaining a divorce in this situation is to return his marriage gift- mahr, which is usually dowry. This situation is usually reflected in the Nikah ceremony as the husband normally gives her the dowry during the ceremony. This dowry given to the bride during the ceremony also reflects that the husband is a financial support to his wife forever, even if they divorce, as he is still then obliged to support his children.
After the agreement of a divorce between a couple there tends to be a waiting period of thirty days to nine months because the divorce is final, which is called iddah. This gives the couple time to reconcile or remarry. This shows that divorce should not be something that is rushed and is not looked upon lightly as marriage should be a life long commitment which is reflected in the agreement to marriage made by the bride and bridegroom during the nikah ceremony.
The beliefs of divorce in Christianity contrast to the beliefs in Islam. This is because Christians do not believe in divorce as, unlike in Islam where God witnesses the ceremony, in Christianity, God joins the couple, ‘What God has joined together, man must not separate’ (Mark 10:9). This is reflected in the Christian marriage ceremony when it is usual for the priest to say, ‘I take thee to be my wedded husband (or wife)…till death do us part…’ (The Book of Common Prayer).
The Roman Catholic Church do not accept divorce under any circumstances and at most accept a separation. This is because marriage is seen as a sacrament. It is reflected in the Roman Catholic marriage ceremony, ‘May he always honour her and love her as Christ loves his bride the church…’ However, in the Roman Catholic Church a marriage can be annulled, if it can be proved that that vows during the marriage ceremony were not meant by one person or that one of the couple were not competent during the vows.
How do these views affect the choices available to a married couple in the religions you have studied?
Because in Islam, although a couple are allowed to divorce although it is not thought highly of, it gives them more freedom and reassurance that if something happened, they would not have to remain married and be eternally unhappy. For example, if either the husband or the wife do not fulfil the promises they made when they were getting married. The woman especially can feel safe in her marriage that if something should change she can get a divorce - khul. For example, if her husband can not support her, if he abuses her, if he becomes insane or very ill, if he is imprisoned or he is impotent. During the divorce between a Muslim couple, if it is a mutual divorce, they have the opportunity to agree between themselves the financial arrangement making it easier.
In the Church of England, Christians are not to divorce but no one in the church can stop them. This for Christian’s means that they do not have to feel trapped in a marriage therefore making more people want to get married if they are in love without feeling intimidated. This is different in the Roman Catholic Church as Christians cannot get a divorce and the only way to get free from a marriage is to get an annulment.
In the Orthodox Church, the church also allow divorce, as they understand that marriages breakdown. They also allow the couple to re-marry in the church. This is different to the Anglican Church, as although they let divorce take place, they tend to not allow remarriage to happen in the church.
