Islamic divorces have become increasingly utilised in the UK in recent years. We receive many queries from people about how to go about getting an Islamic divorce.

The process differs from obtaining a civil divorce. The Islamic divorce has to be gained through the Shari’ah council.

There are two types of Islamic divorce: Talaaq and Khula.

If the applicant is the husband, then under Islamic law he can issue a divorce to his wife by pronouncing the word ’Talaaq’’ three times.

However, if the applicant is the wife then she will need to obtain what is known as a ‘Khula’ from her husband. If the husband refuses to pronounce the Talaaq the wife can make an application from the Shari’ah council to obtain the Khula. An initial application will need to be made to the Shari’ah council outlining the grounds for requesting the Khula. The council will then correspond with the husband on three separate occasions with a view to reconciling the parties and obtaining the husbands view.

In the event that reconciliation is not deemed possible, the Shar’ah council will pronounce a certificate of Khula to the wife.

The process is usually finalised within a year.

It is important to stress that Muslim clients need to obtain a civil divorce through the county court as well as an Islamic divorce through the Shari’ah council.