Fake divorce in the court so that the wife can get assistance from the state

Question: 171398

My father is Syrian and my mother is Emirati, and we live in the Emirates. The Emirates government gives assistance to divorced Emirati women and also gives a loan, to be repaid in instalments, to build a house. Can my father divorce my mother in the court, not with the intention of really divorcing her (talaaq), but only in order to obtain this assistance and to get the loan to build a house, because we are a big family and my father has two wives, and we are twenty people. My father’s intention is not really to divorce my mother; rather it is for the purpose of obtaining the assistance. If it is not halaal, he will divorce her and make that sacrifice so that we can get the house, because life is full of difficulties.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Firstly:

Allah has ordained divorce (talaaq) to dissolve the marriage
contract, which is a firm and strong covenant. Allah says (interpretation of
the meaning): “and they have taken from you a firm
and strong covenant” [an-Nisa’ 4:21].

No one has the right to use divorce except in a serious
manner and for a reason.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: The Lawgiver forbids treating the verses (laws) of Allah as a jest or
to speak of the verses of Allah that are covenants, except in a serious
manner that shows commitment to the shar‘i conditions and obligations. Hence
it is forbidden to take them as a jest as it is also forbidden to engage in
a tahleel marriage (in which an irrevocably divorced woman marries another
man with the intention of getting divorced so that she can go back to her
first husband). This is indicated by the words of Allah (interpretation of
the meaning): “And treat not the Verses (Laws) of Allah as a jest”
[al-Baqarah 2:231]. And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon) said: “What is wrong with people who play with the limits of Allaah
and take His verses (laws) as a jest, and one of them says, ‘I divorce you,
I take you back, I divorce you, I take you back’?” Thus it is established
that tampering with them (the laws and limits set by Allah) is haraam.

End quote from al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 6/65

The hadeeth was narrated by Ibn Maajah, 2017; classed as
hasan by al-Busayri in az-Zawaa’id; classed as da‘eef by al-Albaani
in Da‘eef Sunan Ibn Maajah.

Based on that, your father does not have the right to pretend
to divorce when he does not really want to divorce in a real sense.

Moreover, this pretence is a trick to consume wealth
unlawfully. The state only gives this assistance to women who are really
divorced, and using a trick to obtain it is haraam.

Secondly:

If divorce (talaaq) takes place with a clear statement using
the word talaaq or its derivatives, then the divorce counts as such even if
he did not intend it to do so.

If it is written and not spoken, the basic principle is that
it does not count unless it was intended as such. But if that occurred in
court, then some of the scholars say that it does count as such even if the
intention was not there.

See the answer to questions no.
72291,
125215 and
126378

If your father is unable to spend on his wife’s maintenance
and he thinks that divorcing her in a real sense will enable the wife and
her children to get this assistance, then he may do that. But he should bear
in mind the implications of doing that, such as cancelling out the right to
inherit from one another and other rulings. Our advice is to look for
another means of earning a livelihood and spending on his family; that is
better for him than divorce. May Allah grant him relief and a way out from
this problem.

And Allah knows best.

Source:

Islam Q&A

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