Azhar clerics: verbal divorce without witnesses or immediate documentation valid

Egypt’s Council of Senior Islamic Scholars upheld on Sunday the instant validity of verbal divorce without witnesses or documentation, but also stressed the need for quick official documentation.

A meeting of the council, presided over by Egypt’s Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayeb, discussed the matter after a recent call by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to mandate documentation of divorce before a marriage official as a way of strengthening the institution of the family.

The Council of Senior Islamic Scholars is an advisory board comprised of prominent Azhar clerics, which is appointed by the grand imam.

Islamic religion allows a man to divorce his wife verbally.

Egyptian law mandates that divorces should be documented within 30 days.

Sisi had said in a speech last week that making documentation of divorce decisions a necessity would help in lowering divorce rates in the country.

The president quoted official statistics which show that 40 percent of marriages end in divorce within the first five years.

Sisi argued that documentation before officials gives married partners a chance to reconsider separating.

Source: Ahram online