Q. I intend marrying a girl but she is still kind of married. She has separated from her husband due to him telling her to leave but no talaaq was said. They haven’t seen each other since Ramadhaan and he is only interested in having sexual relations with her. Are they divorced? He does not want to give her a talaaq. Also, does she still have to sit in iddat if she receives talaaq? We want to get married as soon as possible as we do not want to commit haraam. A. The girl you refer to is still married in terms of the Shariah. As long as her husband does not issue talaaq it will never be permissible for you to marry her. If their marriage has broken down and they have separated without any intention of reconciliation, then a talaaq should be extracted from the husband by having someone influential who the man respects speak to him of the folly of withholding talaaq in the circumstances.
If and when he issues talaaq the girl will still have to compulsorily observe iddat before she can marry you.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us understanding of the transitory nature of this world and the eternal nature of the Aakhirat where we will be called upon to account for our deeds in this world. May Allah Ta’ala save us from indulging in acts which court His displeasure, Aameen.
