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God – Allah has given man and woman the right to seek for a divorce if they are not happy in a marriage. However, it is to be noted that divorce should be the last resort a man or woman should seek for. This is to safeguard the family and the interest of the children involved in a divorce case. It is advised that man and woman should work towards making their marriage work (Farag, 2010).

This is seen in Quran verse where Allah advice men even if they don't like their wives they should look for positive qualities.

"... live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and God brings about through it a great deal of good." (Quran, Surah 4 Verse 19)

Similarly, Allah advices women in the following verse.

"If a wife fears cruelty or desertion on her husband's part, there is no blame on them if they arrange an amicable settlement between themselves; ..." (Quran, Surah 4 Verse 128)

It is stressed in the Holy Scripture Quran that reconciliation should be tried at all levels.

"If ye fear a breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters, one from his family, and the other from hers; if they wish for peace, God will cause their reconciliation: For God hath full knowledge, and is acquainted with all things" (Quran, Surah 4 Verse 35).

Furthermore, according to Jaafar-Mohammad and Lehmann, (2011) the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon him) has stressed again and again that a man should be kind to his wife no matter what. The following is the saying of the Prophet.

"Live with them (your wives) on a footing of kindness and equity. If you dislike them it may be that you dislike something in which Allah has placed a great deal of good."

However, if for whatever reason the couple is unhappy divorce can be taken. There are two types of divorce in Islam one that is given by the man and the other that gives right to the woman to dissolve the marriage. Divorce in Arabic is called Talaq. A talaq right is given to the man. A divorce takes place when the man verbally or in written document explicitly announces the divorce such as "I divorce you or You are divorced" (The Islamic Sharia Council, 2013). A man can pronounce divorce three times during a marriage. The first two divorce allows the man to reconcile with his wife while the third divorce is irrecoverable.

In a woman's divorce case, it is different. A woman seeking a divorce because of any defects in the marriage or in the husband had to present her case in front of the judge, who then, grants the divorce. She will also be eligible to financial compensation. However, if a woman seeks a divorce for no particular reason then the woman will get divorce called 'Khula' in Arabic. Whereas, the woman will not be eligible for any financial compensation and has to even return the dowry which the man had paid at the time of marriage (The Islamic Sharia Council, 2013). This has been seen from the evidence in the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) time when a woman was asked to return the garden to her husband that was given to her as a dowry (Islamic Sharia, 2016). The dowry is the gift given by the man to his wife at the time of the marriage. This gift is decided by the woman what she expects from her husband. Many times it is world's pleasures such as cash or jewelry or other times it is spiritual gift such as reciting certain chapters of the Quran, all depending on what the woman sought (Jaafar-Mohammad and Lehmann, 2011). There is only once the woman can seek a khula and once that is effective, the marriage is immediately dissolved.

There were no rights of divorce on the women in the Pre-Islamic Arabia, however, the advent of Islam changed this and women were given the right to ask for separation or marriage dissolution (Khula) for various reasons. This has been seen from the various women seeking Khula during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) for various reasons either compatibility in marriage or more reasons. The evidence from Sunnah is shown by the example of Thabit bin Qais wife who sought for a Khula and had openly said to the Prophet that she found no fault in her husband or the marriage but she wasn't attracted to him. The Prophet had easily agreed that she should get the khula (Engineer, 2008).

Furthermore, it is seen no sin on the woman seeking khula as Quran specifically stress on the happiness of the spouses in the marriage (Siddiqi and Zuberi, 1993). Furthermore, Quran also point out that no one can prevent a woman to dissolve the marriage and become free from it (Engineer, 2008). In addition, Engineer (2008) stress that perhaps Islam is the first religion in history of man to give rights to a woman to easily ask for dissolution of marriage.

After the divorce, there is a grace period or the reconciliation period given in first and second divorce. This is called the iddah period in Arabic. A man can divorce his wife up to three times. Each divorce is stated at a given time and then reconciliation period is observed where the woman cannot remarry and both the spouses should work towards coming to a compromise. The husband can take his wife without any legal procedures and this divorce is called 'raj'i' or the returnable divorce. However, if there is no compromise after the reconciliation period the divorce is finalized. (Faraj, 2012).

Although, it should be noted that after the third divorce there is no reconciliation period and directly the divorce is granted (Faraj, 2012). Hence, there is no grace period either. This is because it is a penalizing act by Allah as a warning that divorce is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly and misused of the term. The man can only remarry his ex-wife if she remarries to another man and if that doesn't work and is divorced then and only then can the man remarry his ex-wife (Faraj, 2012).

After the three months period there are no obligations of the husband or the wife on each other and the woman can remarry as she pleases. This grace period is given not only for the reconciliation but also to be able to determine whether the woman is pregnant due to the relationship with her husband. If the woman is pregnant she cannot remarry until the baby is born and hence the iddah period is extended until the birth of the child. This is practiced in order not to confuse the paternity of the child (Faraj, 2012).

In the Quran it is mentioned witnesses at the time when the man divorces his wife. However, scholars have to the conclusion that it is not obligatory but preferred to have witnesses at that time. The divorce can be done in verbal or even written format.

If the man seeks for divorce, he has to pay financial compensation which is called mut'a in Arabic. He will also have to pay maintenance allowance if the woman has the custody of the children. During the iddah (reconciliation period), the husband is obliged to pay for her maintenance. However, after the iddah period if reconciliation is not made then there is no obligation. Whereas, there is a difference for children out of this marriage. The children have the financial obligations by their father and should be given maintenance for them. In fact, the Sharia stress that a child should stay with the father due to the financial responsibility over them (The Islamic Sharia Council, 2013). Although, a child younger than 7 years should stay with the mother due to the need of motherly affections during the early years of childhood. When the custody of the child is with the mother then the maintenance of the children is given to the mother (Faraj, 2012).

There are no rights of the husband over the wife's property or income during the marriage or after the divorce. The woman's income is solely hers and it is her decision as to what she does with it. Furthermore, whatever money spent on the wife or the gifts given to her during the marriage is not allowed to be asked back during the divorce by the husband. This is to protect her right and wealth. Although, any of the property of the husband should be divided with the wife as this has been stated in the Quran (Jaafar-Mohammad and Lehmann, 2011).

There are various reasons the divorce may be invalidated. The man should be sane when proclaiming divorce. He should not be intoxicated, or being compelled to divorce or in rage of anger that he doesn't remember what he has uttered. Furthermore, the woman should not be in her menses or postnatal bleeding (Jaafar-Mohammad and Lehman, 2011). There has been a misconception that a man cannot divorce his pregnant wife, whereas no where in the sharia is stated that. Therefore, a man can divorce his pregnant wife.