Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
The Question — 28:04
I had a disagreement with my spouse and we separated for a few years. No contact, but no formal divorce was given. We didn't contact, no finances, no intimacy, nothing. Years went by, and now through mutual friends we have begun talking and there is talk of reconciliation. Do we need a new nikah, or does our separation for so many years constitute a divorce? Can we just come back in together?
The Story of Zaynab bint Muhammad and Abu al-Aas — 28:41
The Prophet's daughter Zaynab — she was married to Abu al-Aas, and the Prophet asked her to come to Medina. Her husband was a pagan in Mecca, a mushrik in Mecca. So the Prophet said to Zaynab, "Come back, you should not be with Abu al-Aas." So she came to Medina.
But Abu al-Aas and Zaynab both loved one another. So no divorce took place, but they were living separate. No maintenance, no nothing. She's in Medina, he's in Mecca.
And then years later — a year and a half to two and a half years later — long story, but basically Abu al-Aas embraces Islam and comes to Medina, and the Prophet returned him to Zaynab without a new nikah. Without any nikah.
By the way, this is an exceptional rule in the sense that they both did the nikah pre-Islam, so don't apply this ruling in other conversion scenarios. But what I'm saying is: the talaq did not take place simply because they lived apart. That's what I'm saying here. The talaq did not take place simply because there's no money, there's no contact.
The Ruling — 30:21
No, that's not talaq. It's not good — it's very bad, actually, that you're living for years without any contact. But it does not constitute a divorce. There is no divorce that has taken place. If he did not utter the divorce, nobody filed for divorce — there is no divorce.
And so, if you are reconciling, that's really good news. I'm happy for you. And you may resume the marriage as it was without any new need for a nikah.