What are the ways to divorce for Muslims in Malaysia?
  1. Consensus or Mutual Agreement to divorce
  2. Fasakh
  3. Ta’liq
  4. Khulu
  5. The spouse can agree to separate officially after one party (either the wife or the husband) has forwarded an option to divorce and the other party, agrees to it. The parties are advised to appoint a Syarie lawyer to prepare and sign agreements with regards to custody of the child/children or jointly acquired property or mutaah (compensation to the wife).
How to file for joint /consensus petition for divorce?

The couple/parties can appoint a syarie lawyer to file the summons in Court.

In Selangor, if both parties agree to divorce, your syarie lawyer can apply for fast track case whereby the divorce case can be heard before the Judge within 6-9 hours after the summons has been filed.In other words, if your syarie lawyer files the summons early in the morning, the Registrar will fix the hearing in the afternoon for the case to hear before the Judge. Certificate of Marriage will be canceled by the Court and the Court Order for annulment of the marriage shall be produced on the same day or tomorrow. It was prescribed under Section 47 of Islamic Family Law Enactment (Negeri Selangor) 1991 and the husband shall pronounce the talaq against the wide to dissolve the marriage.

What is Fasakh (Annulment of Marriage)? How to apply for it?

a) The wife’s syarie lawyer must prove to the Court the reasons why she wanted to apply for fasakh. Normally, in Islam the wife can ask for fasakh with one of these reasons:

    1. No maintenance (Nafkah Zahir) for 3-4 consecutive months given by the husband to her and children;
    2. The husband has put the wife in physical or mental torture;
    3. The marriage is not consummated for almost a year;
    4. The husband has been sentenced or imprisonment for a period of three years or more;
    5. The husband is impotent and the wife does not know about it at the time of the marriage;
    6. The husband has abused the wife and asked her to commit an illicit ways/jobs;
    7. The husband has undergone immoral/illegal acts for a long time and does not have the intention to repent and any other reasons as what was prescribed under Section 52 Islamic Family Law Enactment (Negeri Selangor) 1991 and Hukum Syarak.

b) What is Ta’liq? How to apply for Ta’liq?

The wife can appoint a syarie lawyer to  apply for Ta’liq. There’s a requirement to prove as prescribed under the pronouncement of Ta’liq words uttered by the husband during the solemnization of the marriage whether the husband did not provide maintenance (zahir and batin more than 3 months or 4 months consecutively), or left the wife more than 4 or 4 months, or the husband has endured physical torture to the wife/assault the wife physically and the wife has complained to the Religious or Syariah Court Officer/ Judge (Qadhi), after being confirmed that there is a prima facie case (sabitan), the marriage shall be automatically annulled and terminated by the order of the Judge.

c) Khulu’/ redeemable divorce:

The wife can appoint a syarie lawyer to apply from the Judge to annul or terminate the marriage by redeeming herself and pay the minimum amount of RM1 when the husband does not agree to voluntarily pronounce a talaq. If the husband does not agree with the amount, or does not appear before the Court, or there is any possibility of reconciliation, then the Court will appoint Conciliation Committee (either by Jawatan Kuasa Pendamai/Hakam) to act for both parties under Section 47 Islamic Family Law Enactment 1991. It was prescribed under Section 49 Islamic Family Law Enactment 1991.

How long does it take for a divorce case to be completed?

A divorce matter could take more time if it is contested.

The actual time needed for may vary in each and every single case depending on the following factors:

  • The date of hearing granted by the court (whether it is early or late)
  • The complexity of the case
  • The time needed for both parties to reach a settlement (for joint petition's case)
  • The efficiency of the lawyer appointed.
What’s the brief flow for the application of Fasakh & Khulu’?
  1. Your syarie lawyer needs to file in the summon
  2. Your syarie lawyer needs to serve the summon on the opponent party
  3. Your syarie lawyer needs to attend to all case managements prior to a trial
  4. Trial

Further Inquiries?
You may contact our panel lawyers/ the author of this article.

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