Divorce is the most hated permissible thing in the sight of Allah. It dissolves families and deprives children the family atmosphere. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The most hateful permissible thing in the sight of Allah is divorce.” (Reported by Abu Dawud).
The spouses should avoid divorce as much as possible. If they have difficulties and problems they should be patient and forbearing. They have to try to work out their differences and seek help from their relatives, friends or professional counselors.
Regarding announcing divorce in a state of anger, the ruling of divorce may differ based on the level of one’s anger and his intention in this state.
Elaborating on this issue, Sheikh `Atiyyah Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, states:
“Abu Dawud quotes the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: “Divorce and manumission do not count in case of Ighlaq.” Imam Ahamd says Ighlaq means anger; some other scholars hold it to mean doing something under force; others say it stands for insanity.
anger is of three kinds:
1. Anger that renders one unconscious and completely unaware of what he speaks. There is Ijma’ (scholarly consensus) that divorce does not count in this case.
2. Anger that is normal and has no effect on man’s awareness. There is Ijma’ that divorce does count in this case.
3. Extreme anger that is between the two stages. It does not render one to be fully unaware of what he utters, but it is really fierce to the extent of causing one to act against his will. It’s reflected in man’s showing sign of remorse after uttering the words of divorce. This kind of divorce is controversial and the preponderant view is that it does not count.
I advise those who seek religious ruling for cases of divorce to give a honest remark when describing their state of anger, for some people tend to give some sort of exaggerating force to the state of fury, and thus describing it as having paralyzing effect on their power of reasoning when they pronounce divorce. Such people should fear Allah and speak the truth.”
Having stated this, the person who divorced his wife in a state of anger and after two hours regreted has to contact the nearby Islamic center or Imam or a local reliable Muslim scholar – who is known for his profound knowledge of fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) – and present all information regarding his divorce so as to enable the mufti to give him a right Fatwa.