Pronouncing divorce three times simultaneously a sin, crime: CII

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on Wednesday declared that the pronouncement of divorce by a man to his wife on three counts at one time was against the spirit of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and it should be made a punishable crime.
“The divorce comes into effect if it is given on three counts on a single occasion but it is against the spirit of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and is also disliked by Allah Almighty,” CII Chairman Maulana Muhammad Khan Shirani said while addressing a press conference after a two-day meeting of the council.
Maulana Shirani said the CII meeting considered the issue thoroughly and decided to recommend to the government that pronouncing divorce on three counts at one time should be declared as a punishable crime.
He said the council took the decision in view of the fact that the practice was like a sin and was against the Shariat. “If this act is declared a crime, it will also save families from destruction,” he said.
The CII chairman said any person writing divorce on a stamp paper on three counts at a time, should also be punished. However, he said, people belonging to sects where divorce on three counts at one time is counted as one divorce should be exempted from this law.
He pointed out that a woman as per the Shariat should not be divorced during menstruation. After the first divorce, the husband and wife could again establish relations but following the second divorce, which could be given after the second menstruation period, the two sides would have to revise their ‘Nikah’.
He said the CII also declared that any reconciliatory committee, whether it comprises relatives from both sides and other people, could not cancel a marriage; rather the committee could only make reconciliation. “It is only a court of law which has the authority to cancel the marriage,” he said.
He said the CII also declared that a woman less than the age of 40 should not be appointed as a judge in Hudood or other cases and should also observe ‘Hijab’. “We are including the age factor for a woman judge, as by 40 a woman becomes a balanced personality,” he said.
However, he declined to comment on the status of sitting female judges whose age is less than 40.On the issue of corporal punishment of children, Maulana Shirani said the matter was referred to the research section of the CII to prepare the draft of a bill in the light of Shariat’s directives.
The CII meeting did not oppose the inclusion of sexual education in the curriculum of educational institutions but it decided that topics and chapters should be derived after seeking guidance from verses of the Holy Quran and books written by religious scholars.
He said the CII had already declared as against Shariat, the clause of the Dissolution of Marriage Act 1939 which says that a wife is entitled to obtain a decree for cancellation of marriage if her husband has taken an additional wife without her (first wife) permission.
He said the council also considered the clause of the Act which says that a wife is entitled to obtain decree for dissolution of marriage if her husband is sentenced to imprisonment for seven years or more.
On the issue of declaring Ramazan 27 as gazetted holiday, he said the council decided that August 14 should continue as a gazetted holiday. “If 27th of Ramazan, instead of August 14 being the Independence Day, is declared as a holiday, it may give rise to other issues,” he said.
He said the CII meeting referred three matters to its research wing. Those include whether Qadianis are non-Muslim or ‘Murtad’; whether non-Muslims are citizens equal to those of Muslims or they are ‘Zimmis’, and what is the status of a person calling a Muslim ‘Kafir’ in the light of Shariat.