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Divorce has some conditions which must be satisfied if it is to
be valid. Firstly. when the husband pronounces the divorcep formally,
he must mean it, In other words, he must have the intention of
revoking the marriage contract.
1 Secondly. the husband himself must
be sane, conscious and mentally fit. The divorce of a mentally ill
person is not valid whether his illness is continuous or intermittent.
By mental illness here. we mean permanent insanity. It also includes
a man who is not in full possession of his senses because of illness.
alcohol or drugs. The last case is applicable even if the drugs were
taken because of medical reasons as in the case of ansesthetics and
morphine which might cause a temporary loss of mental control and in
which case, the divorce is invalid. cUthm9n' said, "A divorce given by
an insane man or a drunk is not valid. " 2 Ali also said, "All
divorces are legally valid except that of person who has no intelligence
insane or drunk). 3
Thirdly, he must be adult, of age. The divorce of a young person
is not valid. 4
Fourthly, he must divorce of his own free will. The divorce of
a man forced to divorce his wife is invalid.
As far as divorce pronouncement is concerned. two conditions must
be satisfied. Firstly, the pronouncement must be a clear statement
indicating with no confusion what is Intended. For example, if a man
gets angry with his wife and as a result of that, sends her to her
1. Al-Jairi, op. cit., P. 279
2. Sahih al Bukharis Vol. 7. P. 144
3. Ibid
4. Al JaJir!. op. cit., P. 279
5. Ibid
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