Nikah contract or marriage is a core and revered Islamic practice, which is understood to be a legal contract as well as a religious sacrament. For this reason, it is reasonable to observe that the Muslim personal law is highly regulated yet subject to several challenges and controversies. As per Islamic jurisprudence and Muslim personal law, marriages must fulfil the contractual requirements of nikah, which is completed through offer (ijab) and acceptance (qubool), presence of mehr (dower which is mandatory, and can be paid promptly or deferred) and the witnesses of the nikah.
Subsequently, the matter of divorce is also structured through Islamic jurisprudence and the Muslim personal law of Pakistan. In contemplation, the primary right of dissolution, i.e., talaq vests with the husband who can pronounce it orally or in writing, which is inclusive of all types of talaq (talaq ahsan, talaq hasan and talaq biddah). As per the Honourable Court in the case reported as Muhammad Akram[1], Talaq and divorce must not be deliberated as dissimilar since divorce means dissolution of marriage (Talaq) and also separation.
Similarly, the wife has the right of Khula where the wife offers compensation to the husband if he releases her from marital rights[2] which is exercisable at her discretion, but requires the returning (if paid) or foregoing of the mehr (if unpaid) or a payment to the husband (the requirement of foregoing or return of mehr has been eased in Pakistani jurisprudence in the recent times[3]). However, there also exists a unique and an extraordinary provision in Islamic jurisprudence where the husband delegates his primary right of talaq to a designated person, usually the wife which is known as the provision of Talaq Tafweez. The right of Talaq Tafweez is thus to be differentiated from the right of Khula as both provisions are disparate in their operation.
Dr Mannan in explanation of Talaq Tafweez[4], submits that although the power to give divorce belongs primarily to the husband, he may delegate the power to the wife or to a third person, either absolutely or conditionally, and either for a particular period or permanently. The person to whom the power is thus delegated may then pronounce the divorce accordingly.
Furthermore, Bailee[5] adds a layer to the argument by enlightening that it can be possible that Talaq Tafweez can be granted by the husband for only the meeting where they are present which cannot be divested. Otherwise, if there is no reference towards the meeting, then it is an appointment of agency which is not restricted to the meeting, and may be revoked. Additionally, if the husband says that the wife should repudiate herself today, or this month, or some month or some year, she may exercise the option at any time within the given period.
Talaq Tafweez provides the wife or another person nominated, an entitlement to repudiate the marriage by exercising the right delegated to them on behalf of the husband. Inspiration of Talaq Tafweez is drawn from verses 28 and 29 of Surah Al-Ahzab of the Holy Quran, this was further developed in the Islamic jurisprudence by the Mujtahids making it valid and binding if attracted through the marriage contract; thus, it must be explained as a valid marriage provision to the people contracting for marriage.
In our reading of the Tafseer of the Quran, Maulana Maudoodi explains that this right entails two modes, firstly, where the husband makes it clear, with his words, that he has provided this right to his wife or where he makes it clear that he intends to provide this right to his wife[6].
In the Pakistani jurisdiction, Talaq Tafweez is provided and recognised briefly under s 8 of the Muslim Family Ordinance, 1961 which is quoted verbatim here:
“Where the right to divorce has been duly delegated to the wife and she wishes to exercise that right, or where any of the parties to a marriage wishes to dissolves the marriage otherwise than by talaq, the provisions of section 7 shall, mutatis mutandis and so far, as applicable, apply[7].”
The High Court of Peshawar in the case reported as Sajid Hussain Tanoli[8] highlighted that Talaq Tafweez is of three kinds: Ikhtiar (giving the wife the authority to divorce herself), Amr-ba-yed (leaving the matter in the wife’s own hand), Mashiat (giving the wife the option to do what she likes).
The right to Talaq Tafweez can be accepted as a term in the Nikahnama by agreeing to it as a stipulation provided for in the column 18 of the Nikahnama. The contracting parties (bride or the bridegroom) will be required to stipulate that this right is provided to either the wife, or a nominated person along with any condition attached to this delegation, occurrence of which would trigger the attraction of this provision. A sample of this is attached below for consideration.
Furthermore, an appreciative amendment in Punjab’s family scheme[9], section (2A) of the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance, 1961 now requires the Nikah Registrar or the person who solemnizes a Nikah to accurately fill all the columns of the Nikahnama form with specific answers of the bride or the bridegroom. This ensures that the column under which the right of Talaq Tafweez is provided is filled with the acknowledgment and consent of the parties contracting the marriage.
As an outstanding right, Talaq Tafweez invites some concern regarding whether the exercise of Talaq Tafweez revokes the right of mehr. A simple answer is that as this a pronouncement of talaq albeit delegated, the mehr remains intact and the wife is entitled to receive it if it is deferred to be paid, or the wife is entitled to keep the mehr if it was promptly paid.
Moving towards the procedure in Muslim person law of Pakistan, the Honourable Court in the case reported as Muhammad Akram[10], confirmed that when section 8 of Muslim Family Ordinance, 1961 is exercised, the section 7 of Muslim Family Ordinance, 1961 would apply mutatis mutandis.
The Supreme Court in the case reported as Muhammad Hassan Sultan[11] has identified that if the wife wishes to divorce her husband, the notice of the divorce must be submitted to the Chairman, Union Council and a copy must be supplied to the husband. After the notices have been served to both of them, the statutory time ninety days will begin for an effective divorce. It is pertinent to consider that the arbitration council cannot adjudicate on the validity of the pronouncement of Talaq Tafweez by the nominated person as it lacks the jurisdiction to try the controversy[12], and a proper forum is a civil court. The arbitration council may only have the limited power to confirm the sender or submitter of the notice[13]. The Honourable Court in the case reported as Dr. Qambar Murtaza Bokhari[14] highlighted that if the wife has been provided Ikthiar (reference provided above), then the exercise of Talaq Tafweez will be according to the sect of the wife even if the husband belongs to another sect which has different rules of pronouncement of Talaq.
In Hassan Sultan case[15], the court affirmed the principle as was provided in Dr. Qambar Murtaza Bokhari[16], that the divorce once pronounced and communicated to the contracting parties, notwithstanding their conduct, becomes effective after the expiry of ninety days unless it is revoked earlier by the husband or wife. In case Talaq Tafweez is provided to the nominated party other than the wife, the cumulative reading of s7 along with s8 of Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961 may also entitle the nominated person an equal right to revoke the Talaq Tafweez before the ending of 90 days.
While Talaq Tafweez has been considered as an effective remedy to maintain marital relations and a check and balance on the husband, several clarifications are still required in the legislation. The legislature must confirm or clarify that the wife or nominated person enjoys the same right of revocation within the ninety-day period as the husband. The legislature must also clarify any doubts regarding the confusion between khula and Talaq Tafweez, and provide a provision confirming that the wife remains entitled to her full mehr rights. Such reforms ensures that with the changing conditions, reforms consider modern complex scenarios in consideration of Islamic jurisprudence and prevailing societal values.
Muhammad Arsal Asif
[1] Muhammad Akram v Muhammad Taj PLD 2011 Lahore 265, [5]
[2] Dr. M.A. Mannan, D.F Mullas’s Principles of Mahomedan Law Pakistan Edition (PLD Publishers 1996) 467
[3] The Family Courts Act 1964, ss 10 (5)-(6). Enacted through The Punjab Family Courts (Amendment) Act 2015.
[4] Dr. M.A. Mannan, D.F Mullas’s Principles of Mahomedan Law Pakistan Edition (PLD Publishers 1996) 461
[5] Dr. M.A. Mannan, D.F Mullas’s Principles of Mahomedan Law Pakistan Edition (PLD Publishers 1996) 461;
Bailee, Digest of Muhammadan Law (1869) 242, 254
[6] Abu Ala Maudoodi, Tafheem al-Quran, Jild Awwal, ‘Tafheem Ul Quran – Maulana Maududi : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive‘, (09-12-2019), accessed Date: (09-09-2026), Page — (2105-2107/3732); Sajid Hussain
Tanoli v Nadia Khattak 2011 CLC 1625, [10]
[7] Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961, s 8
[8] Sajid Hussain Tanoli v Nadia Khattak 2011 CLC 1625, [9]
[9] Muslim Family Laws (Amendment) Act 2015 (XIII of 2015), s 2A
[10] Muhammad Akram v Muhammad Taj PLD 2011 Lahore 265, [5]
[11] Muhammad Hassan Sultan. v Chairman Union Council and ors Civil Petition No. 5364 of 2024, decided 28 November
2025; 2025 SCP 449; 2026 SCLR 24
[12] Ms. Shema Farooq v Chairman, Union Committee, Ward No.4, Lahore Cantt 1996 C L C 673 [Lahore], [7]
[13] Ms. Shema Farooq v Chairman, Union Committee, Ward No.4, Lahore Cantt 1996 C L C 673 [Lahore],[8] ;
Mazoor Hussain v. Chairman, Arbitration Council, Union Council, Jalal, Thesil and District Gujranwala and 4
others 1988 CLC 2061
[14] Dr. Qambar Murtaza Bokhari v Mst. Zainab Bashir PLD 1995 Lahore 187, [13]
[15] Muhammad Hassan Sultan. v Chairman Union Council and ors Civil Petition No. 5364 of 2024, [11]
[16] Dr. Qambar Murtaza Bokhari v Mst. Zainab Bashir PLD 1995 Lahore 187, [10]-[12]
