The Domain of the Obligation of the Husband to Divorce in the Fiqh of Islamic Denominations

The obligation of the couple to divorce by the Islamic ruler is one of the important issues of Fiqh and law in the family, and it is significant because it can prevent the spouse from harm, hardships, and fears in the continuation of married life. Imamiyah and Sunni jurists generally agree upon the legality of the obligation of the couple to divorce, but there are some different viewpoints in the cases and conditions based on the foundation and arguments that have been considered for this issue. Shia jurists, based on the verses (of the Qur'an) and narratives, have considered the abandonment of sexual relationships, as well as the abandonment of giving alimony and misbehavior, to be valid requirements for a couple to divorce. However, the Hanafians, unlike other Sunnis, do not consider it permissible to oblige a couple to divorce due to disfavor or inability to pay alimony, and in the case of misbehavior, only Malikiya consider it obligatory to divorce. In the present study, while examining the arguments and cases of obligation of a couple to divorce in the fiqh of denominations, we came to the conclusion that the main basis of the legitimacy of requiring a couple to divorce is the need to negate the harm and fears of the wife. In other words, if the monopoly of the right to divorce, which is in the hands of the husband, causes loss and fears or hardships to the wife in her married life, after the request of the wife, the religious judge can issue a compulsory decree or proceed with divorce by proving the remarkable loss and harm. Based on this, it is possible to generalize cases requiring a couple to divorce to other cases of loss, including incurable infectious diseases of the husband.