Abstract
<p>The alarming explosion of divorce in our present times is a cause of great concern. In fact the divorce rate in Northern Nigeria is high and this is scandalous. The mention of the word (<em>Talaq</em>) divorce has now become so cheap that in some marriages, every argument futures this word, either the husband threatens with it or the wife demands it. Hence women are married and divorce at will for minor reasons. This paper is therefore an attempt to highlight some of the causes of rampant divorce and its negative impact on Muslim women in the northern part of Nigeria. Some <em>Shari’ah</em> court cases were also examined in other to find out whether the Judiciary is invulnerable to the problem of divorce among Muslim women in Northern Nigeria. The study reveals that the challenges and negative effects of divorce are usually much stronger on the woman and her off springs than the man. These ranges from psychological trauma, immoral behaviour, Economic hardship, denial of custody, etc. Using descriptive and analytical methods, this paper interprets Islamic teachings as enshrined in the Qur’an and <em>Sunnah</em> with a view to proffering Islamic solutions on them. The paper recommends among other things, that parents and intending spouses should endeavour to find out the level of Islamic knowledge, habit, character of suitors/wives to be, prior to the marriage in order to prepare adequately for a successful association.</p>
Highlights
Islam enjoins marital relations between spouses and prescribes principles and rules to regulate marriage both as a transaction as well as an institution
It is obvious that some Muslims do not really understand the techniques of marriage in Islam especially in regards to women
Some divorce women find it very difficult to marry again. This observation was made by Gero. She is sometimes accused of being impatient with her former husband, being disrespectful; having immoral behaviour etc. on the other hand the woman herself may express her experiences in her previous marital life with the fear that she may encounter such problem in another marriage
Summary
Islam enjoins marital relations between spouses and prescribes principles and rules to regulate marriage both as a transaction as well as an institution Amongst these prescriptions are the rights and obligations of the husband and wife towards each other. If she experiences her period or the postnatal flux, or if there has been an intercourse after recovery and purity the wife’s state is considered impure and there can be no (acceptable) Sunnah divorce Under these circumstances, a divorce pronouncement is religiously forbidden but legally valid (Abdal’Ati 1982:228).Many researchers on divorce link separation to different levels of stress. According to Shakhrawi(n.d) the worse of divorce is to pronounce it three times in one stretch He goes on to say that, it is against the Islamic Shariah and invites a number of problems and difficulties for both of the spouses and their respective families including Children. This paper considers this subject matter under the following headings: Introduction; Literature Review, Methodology, Islam on divorce, why rampant divorce in Northern Nigeria, Examination of some cases of divorce decided in the Shari ’ah courts of northern Nigeria, Challenges and negative effects of divorce on the Muslim woman in northern Nigeria, conclusion and recommendations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
