Chapter on the Types of Divorce

Divorce takes various forms, and none of them is valid except when performed during a period of purity without intercourse, in the presence of two just witnesses, and with the husband willingly intending the divorce without coercion or compulsion. Among the types of divorce are: the divorce according to the Sunnah, the divorce of a woman observing the waiting period, the divorce of an absentee husband, the divorce of a minor boy, the divorce of an insane person, the divorce of a woman who has not been consummated, the divorce of a pregnant woman, the divorce of a woman who has not yet reached menstruation, the divorce of a woman who has reached menopause, the divorce of a mute person, and secret divorce. Other forms include divorce through mutual choice, mutual renunciation, discord and conflict, khul (divorce at the wife's request with compensation), oath of abstinence (Ila'), zihar (a husband likening his wife to a forbidden relation), lian (mutual cursing in cases of adultery accusation), the divorce of a slave, the divorce of a sick person, the divorce of an absent or missing person, and various terms used for divorce such as khaliah (divorce with renunciation), bariah (divorce with full release), batta (final and irrevocable divorce), ba'in (irrevocable divorce), and haram (forbidden divorce). Additionally, the rulings concerning an impotent husband are also addressed within the laws of divorce.