There Cannot be Divorce before Marriage

“Once I was in the Masjid when Ali ibn al-Husayn, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, came in but I could not recognize him properly; so I asked about him and I was told about his name so others and I stood up for him, we surrounded him (the Imam) and offered him (the Imam) greeting of peace. A man then said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep you well, what is your view about a man who mentions a woman exactly and on the day of his marriage says three times that she is divorced then he decides to marry her: if he can do so.’ He (the Imam) said, ’Divorce is only after marriage.”’

“I once asked him (the Imam) (a.s.), about the case of a man who says that on the day I will get married to so and so she is divorced. He (the Imam) said, ‘It does not have any valid effect until he has a binding marriage.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah, Alayhi al-Salam, has said, ‘Those who were before us would say, ‘Setting free of a slave or divorce does not have any valid effect until a man has an ownership and marriage.’”

“Once I was in the Masjid when Ali ibn al-Husayn, Alayhi al-Salam, came and I could not recognize him. He (the Imam) had a black turban and he had allowed both ends of the turban to hang down between his two shoulders. I then asked a man sitting near me, ‘Who is this Shaykh?’ He asked, ‘Why did you not ask me about people other than this shaykh coming in the Masjid?’ I replied, ‘Because I did not see anyone else entering the Masjid look as good as this Shaykh and his condition in my eyes, thus I asked you.’ He then said, ‘This is Ali ibn al-Husayn, Alayhi al-Salam .’ The man, others and I stood up. We surrounded him (the Imam) and offered greetings of peace. A man then said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep you well, what is your view about a man who mentions a woman exactly and on the day of his marriage says three times that she is divorced but then he decides to marry her: if he can do so.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Divorce is only after marriage.’ ‘Abd Allah has said that my father and I visited abu ‘Abd Allah, Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, Alayhim al-Salam, and my father narrated this Hadith to him (the Imam). Abu ‘Abd Allah, Alayhi al-Salam, asked, ‘Will you testify that this is a Hadith of Ali ibn al-Husayn, Alayhi al-Salam ?’ He replied, ‘Yes I will do so.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far, Alayhi al-Salam, about the case of a man who says, ‘If I marry so and so woman she is divorced; if I buy so and so slave, he is free and if I buy this cloth it is for the destitute. He (the Imam) said, ‘It does not have any valid effect; he cannot divorce until he is married and owns. He cannot give charity except what he owns.’”