Does “Not Making Love” Amount to Divorce?

In Islam, the marriage of a man and a woman is not just a financial and physical arrangement of living together but a sacred contract, a gift of Allah, to lead a happy, enjoyable life and procreate. The main goal of marriage in Islam is the realization of tranquillity and compassion between the spouses. For the attainment of this supreme goal, Islam has defined certain duties and rights for the husband and wife.

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: If a husband and wife abstain from sexual relations for one reason or another, that by itself does not constitute divorce. Divorce, in order to be valid, must be pronounced or written down, therefore the marriage shall be still be deemed as valid. However, if one of the parties wishes to seek a divorce on grounds of utter sexual dissatisfaction, that is another matter; for definitely, this can be considered a valid ground for divorce in Islam.