FASID Matrix: Imperfections and Dissolution in Islamic Law
FASID Matrix: Imperfect Marriages
The matrix in FASID (Aunq x ntrlza ppio) is considered imperfect or FASID if it is not healthy. This loses its effect due to any circumstances outside the business background. JCO or its scope constitutes the essentiality, and in such a case, the fundamental consequence is that it can be dissolved by demand in court.
A matrix is defined as FASID if it concurs with any circumstances. For example:
- Irregularities in the dowry.
- If the matrix is held during a period of pilgrimage or ihram.
- If the matrix is concluded without a guardian or tutor for a non-Muslim.
- If clauses are set affecting the essential content of the marriage.
Only after the marital union is consummated can invalidity or imperfection be alleged. Depending on the cases, this corresponds to any interested person or the judge ex officio, as it can affect social order.
Specific dissolutory effects of this action include:
- The woman is exempted from the duty of continence or iddah term.
- The gifts given as a reason for the conclusion, along with the dowry, must be repaid.
Khula: Repudiation by the Wife
In this case, the woman herself initiates the repudiation. Even if the de facto wife carries out the repudiation, this results from the husband’s delegation, making an economic compensation change. The husband, by conceding this option, accepts the fact that it entails repudiation. This is not a repudiation by mutual agreement but a new unilateral solution.
Liam: Accusation of Adultery
Liam is a particular mode of repudiation based on the charge of adultery against the woman. This is done using a specific formula to avoid attributing proper parenting. The decision of liam should be made even if the matrix is irregular; it is the only way to break the Islamic parent-child link.
The formula involves the husband swearing four times before the court, indicating the woman is adulterous, followed by a fifth oath sworn upon themselves. Women must also swear to escape punishment, as adultery carries independent/double effects.
The effects of liam, despite the wife’s guilt, are similar to any other repudiatory formula:
- Non-refoulement of the dowry if the matrix is done.
- Refund of only half of what was received if there is no consummation.
- Concerning vocation of succession, it is maintained until the end of the period of continence or iddah.
- Given the wife’s guilt, she loses the right to live during pregnancy, if any.
Judicial Dissolution
In the event of causal dissolution, women can exercise their right to repudiation before the Cadi, showing the reason that causes the right. The procedure is a very expeditious judicial repudiation: the claim is brought before the Cadi, who instructs the sentencing process and revocable repudiation. From that time, the quality of the dowry is required, and the woman starts her iddah.
If, in any case, a ruling is made against the woman, she would lose her right to the nefaka. Besides these causal assumptions, there are others in which the court can officially intervene, divorcing spouses. These are cases where, for various reasons imputable to the woman or the man, married life is unsustainable.