Personal Status Cassation Judgment: Divorce by Khul' and the Husband's Obstinacy

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

THE FEDERAL SUPREME COURT

Wednesday Session, corresponding to April 22, 2026

Presided over by Judge / Falah Shaye Al-Hajri "Presiding Judge"

And the membership of Judges / Jumaa Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Otaibi and Al-Tayeb Abdul Ghafour Abdul Wahab.

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Cassation No. 109 of 2026 Personal Status

(1, 2) Separation in Marriage "Judicial Separation: Separation for Harm". Islamic Sharia "The Family in the Rulings of Islamic Sharia".

(1) A woman's request for divorce or khul' is permissible if there is a reason for it. It is forbidden for her to request a divorce without an excuse or severe harm. The basis for this is from the Holy Quran and the purified Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

(2) The family is the fundamental pillar of society; its soundness leads to stability, and its dissolution causes its structure to crumble. Its foundation is built on affection, mercy, good treatment, and the solemn covenant between spouses. The basis for this is from the Holy Quran.

(3, 4) Separation in Marriage "Khul': Its Nature, Conditions, and Imposed Restrictions".

(3) Khul' is a separation at the wife's request and with the husband's consent in exchange for financial compensation. The compensation may validly be what was received of the dower, with the waiver of any remaining deferred portion. It is not valid for the compensation for khul' to be the waiver of any of the children's rights, whether in their maintenance or custody. If the husband obstinately refuses to accept the khul' compensation, the court may rule for dissolution in exchange for suitable compensation. Its validity is conditioned on the full legal capacity of the spouses and the requirement of its documentation within 15 days before the court. Any interested party has the right to prove it by all means of proof. Its effect is an irrevocable, minor separation (bainuna sughra).

(4) Khul' is considered a right for a woman to separate from someone she dislikes and cannot live with, and it does not require proof of her dislike as it is a matter of conscience, unlike a request for divorce for harm or discord. Its restrictions are: that the wife fears she will not observe the limits of Allah, that she sacrifices wealth by returning the dower or a portion thereof, and the husband's acceptance of that, followed by her divorce. The effect of the husband's obstinate refusal of the woman's offered ransom. It is permissible for her to resort to the court, which must first strive for reconciliation, then seek an agreement on the khul' compensation. If this is not possible, the court shall rule for dissolution in exchange for compensation it deems appropriate, with reasoned and justified grounds. The appealed judgment's violation of this view and its failure to comprehend the Sharia rules governing khul', disregarding the consensual nature of the marriage contract, and ignoring what was proven in the documents of the impossibility of cohabitation between the spouses and the escalation of discord confirmed by official evidence and presumptions, constitutes a deficiency in reasoning and an error in assessing the reality, in addition to violating the provisions of Islamic Sharia, which necessitates its reversal and remand.

(Cassation No. 109 of 2026 Personal Status, Session of 22/4/2026)

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The Federal Supreme Court

1- It is established in the glorious provisions of Islamic Sharia, acting upon the words of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, in His Wise Revelation: "Divorce is twice. Then, either keep [her] in an acceptable manner or release [her] with kindness. And it is not lawful for you to take anything of what you have given them unless both fear that they will not be able to keep [the limits of] Allah. But if you fear that they will not keep [the limits of] Allah, then there is no blame upon either of them concerning that by which she ransoms herself. These are the limits of Allah, so do not transgress them. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah - it is those who are the wrongdoers." And His words, the Exalted and Majestic, in His Noble Book: "And if they separate, Allah will enrich each from His abundance." Allah, the Great, has spoken the truth. It is permissible for a woman to seek divorce or khul' if there is a reason for it, based on what was narrated by Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that the wife of Thabit bin Qais came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I do not fault Thabit bin Qais in his character or religion, but I dislike disbelief in Islam." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, said: "Will you return his garden to him?" She said: "Yes." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, said: "Accept the garden and divorce her with one divorce." However, it is not permissible for a woman to seek a divorce except when there is a reason for it, such as ill-treatment from the husband; based on what was narrated by Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah from Thawban, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, said: "Any woman who asks her husband for a divorce without a valid reason, the fragrance of Paradise is forbidden to her." Authenticated by Al-Albani in Sahih Abi Dawood, may Allah the Almighty have mercy on them.

2- It is established in the glorious provisions of Islamic Sharia and the Personal Status Law that the family is considered the primary foundation of society. Its soundness and stability lead to its well-being, and its dissolution leads to the crumbling of its structure. It is based on affection, mercy, good treatment, and the mutual commitment between spouses. In this regard, Allah the Exalted says in His Wise Revelation: "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought."

3- It is established in the Personal Status Law No. 41 of 2024 that khul' is a separation between spouses at the wife's request and with the husband's agreement to the compensation she or another offers. A khul' results in an irrevocable minor separation (bainuna sughra). Anything that is validly considered property is valid as compensation in khul'. If the compensation for khul' is the dower, the settlement is limited to what was received of the dower, and any remaining portion, even if deferred, is waived. It is not permissible to agree that the compensation in khul' be the waiver of any of the children's rights to their maintenance or custody. If the husband obstinately refuses to accept the khul' compensation, the court shall rule for dissolution in exchange for suitable compensation that it determines. Khul' is valid from spouses of full legal capacity, and the compensation in khul' is valid with the capacity of the one providing the compensation. The spouses must document the khul' according to the procedures in force before the competent court within a maximum period of (15) fifteen days. Any interested party may apply to the court to prove it by any means of proof.

4- It is established by the text of the fourth paragraph of Article (66) of the aforementioned law - Personal Status Law No. 41 of 2024 - that "if the husband obstinately refuses to accept the khul' compensation, the court shall rule for dissolution in exchange for suitable compensation that it determines." The import of this latter text is that the legislator has adopted the view that just as Sharia has given a man the right to divorce a wife he dislikes and cannot live with, it has also given a woman the right to separate (khul') from a man she dislikes.

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The Federal Supreme Court

is able to live with him under any circumstances. Just as the Wise Legislator restricted the husband's right to divorce his wife with conditions he must observe, such as bearing the loss of the dower he had given the woman and keeping her in her home for the duration of her waiting period, and that he will not be able to marry her again if he divorces her for the third time without a valid intervening marriage (tahleel), so too does He give the woman the right of khul' and restricts it with several conditions. These are that the khul' be in a situation where transgressing the limits of Allah is feared, that the woman sacrifices wealth by returning to him some or all of what she had taken as dower, and that the separation is completed by the husband's acceptance of this wealth and then his divorcing her. If the woman offers the ransom to the man and he does not accept it, she has the right to resort to the court in case of the husband's obstinacy. The reason for the wife's request for khul' is her dislike of her husband. The text in Article 66 mentioned above states, "if the husband obstinately refuses to accept the khul' compensation...", which indicates that the wife is not required to prove her claim of dislike with evidence, as it is an internal matter for which evidence cannot be conceived. She is also not required to prove harm inflicted upon her or discord between her and her husband, as that is required in lawsuits for divorce due to harm or discord. Rather, the court must seek to reconcile the parties. If it is unable to do so, it should seek an agreement between them on the khul' compensation. If they do not agree, it should present the khul' compensation offered by the plaintiff to the defendant for his say. If they do not agree on a specific compensation and the defendant insists on keeping his wife, the court must rule for the compensation it deems appropriate, in accordance with the aforementioned text, with reasons justifying its judgment, and these reasons must be sufficient to support its ruling. The collective understanding of the texts is that if a husband refuses his wife's request for khul', and it becomes clear to the court that reconciliation between the spouses is impossible and that the discord between them has reached a point where it is feared they will not uphold the limits of Allah, and that the husband is being obstinate in his refusal of khul', then it shall rule for khul' in exchange for the compensation the court deems appropriate, opting for the lesser of two harms. As this was the case, and the appealed judgment, which upheld the primary judgment, did not encompass the aforementioned Sharia rules and the facts presented before it concerning khul', and did not take into consideration that marriage is originally a consensual contract, the lack of continued cohabitation in an acceptable manner between the spouses, the existing and ongoing discord in its Sharia sense since 2010, the escalation of conflict, aversion, and dispute, and the presumption of non-fulfillment of Sharia rights, and considering that the material event represented by the continuous disputes, repeated lawsuits, and criminal complaints is proven by Sharia-compliant evidence, including official documents, testimony, presumptions, and implicit admission, and the appealed judgment did not take all of this into consideration, nor the rule of Sharia balance, the psychological state of the spouses and their difficult circumstances, and the failure to refer the case for investigation to prove the state of obstinacy or lack thereof, while the appellant adhered to this defense, along with a misunderstanding of the reality, an error in assessing the circumstances of the parties, and a deficiency in reasoning, which led to a violation of the provisions of the glorious Islamic Sharia and the law, which necessitates its reversal without the need to examine the remaining grounds of appeal, with the reversal to be accompanied by a remand.

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The Federal Supreme Court

The Court

Whereas the appeal has satisfied its formal requirements.

And whereas the facts of the case, as summarized, are that the plaintiff-appellant filed her initial lawsuit against her husband, the defendant-respondent, seeking a judgment for separation by khul', on the grounds that she is the respondent's wife and that she requests separation from her husband by khul' due to harm and her fear of not upholding the limits of Allah, as the husband frequently insults, beats, slanders, uses obscene language, is unjust between his wives, abandons her, and continuously threatens the plaintiff with expulsion at any problem, and insults her in front of her children, with proof of custody and guardianship of the children......... and........ and...... and expenses, which prompted her to resort to the judiciary after fearing for herself.

The respondent also submitted a responsive memorandum in which he requested, in conclusion, the acceptance of khul' on the condition that the plaintiff pays him the full dower and proves her waiver of all Sharia rights. On 25/9/2025, the Court of First Instance ruled to dismiss the lawsuit.

The appellant appealed this judgment, and on 10/2/2026, the Court of Appeal ruled to dismiss the appeal and uphold the appealed judgment.

The plaintiff appealed for cassation, and when the appeal was presented in the consultation chamber, the panel deemed the appeal worthy of consideration and set a session for its hearing and notified the parties.

Whereas among what the appellant faults the appealed judgment with is its violation of the provisions of the glorious Islamic Sharia and the law, violation of what is established in the documents, corruption in reasoning, and violation of the essential right of defense when it ruled to dismiss the separation by khul' without a legitimate reason, despite the proof of harm to the wife, and the existence of a legitimate and rational justification for separation by khul', with the obstinacy of the respondent husband regarding the compensation, his neglect of his family, wife, and children, the aversion in its Sharia sense, his bad character, and his frequent insults, beatings, slander, and cursing of her, his failure to provide for her, and his deliberate holding onto his wife to obtain a larger financial compensation for khul' and to enrich himself at her expense, while disregarding Sharia and legal evidence and the authority of previous judgments and the criminal judgment against the respondent, which indicates assault on the wife and the failure to prove the clear obstinacy of the husband to harm the wife, which is

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The Federal Supreme Court

an essential defense that the Court of Appeal did not investigate, which marred the judgment with a deficiency in reasoning and a violation of the right of defense, necessitating its reversal.

And whereas this ground for appeal is valid; as it is established in the glorious provisions of Islamic Sharia, acting upon the words of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, in His Wise Revelation: "Divorce is twice. Then, either keep [her] in an acceptable manner or release [her] with kindness. And it is not lawful for you to take anything of what you have given them unless both fear that they will not be able to keep [the limits of] Allah. But if you fear that they will not keep [the limits of] Allah, then there is no blame upon either of them concerning that by which she ransoms herself. These are the limits of Allah, so do not transgress them. And whoever transgresses the limits of Allah - it is those who are the wrongdoers." And His words, the Exalted and Majestic, in His Noble Book: "And if they separate, Allah will enrich each from His abundance." Allah, the Great, has spoken the truth. It is permissible for a woman to seek divorce or khul' if there is a reason for it, based on what was narrated by Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that the wife of Thabit bin Qais came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I do not fault Thabit bin Qais in his character or religion, but I dislike disbelief in Islam." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, said: "Will you return his garden to him?" She said: "Yes." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, said: "Accept the garden and divorce her with one divorce." However, it is not permissible for a woman to seek a divorce except when there is a reason for it, such as ill-treatment from the husband; based on what was narrated by Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah from Thawban, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, said: "Any woman who asks her husband for a divorce without a valid reason, the fragrance of Paradise is forbidden to her." Authenticated by Al-Albani in Sahih Abi Dawood, may Allah the Almighty have mercy on them. Furthermore, it is established in the glorious provisions of Islamic Sharia and the Personal Status Law that the family is considered the primary foundation of society. Its soundness and stability lead to its well-being, and its dissolution leads to the crumbling of its structure. It is based on affection, mercy, good treatment, and the mutual commitment between spouses. In this regard, Allah the Exalted says in His Wise Revelation: "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought." It is also established in the Personal Status Law No. 41 of 2024 that khul' is a separation between spouses at the wife's request and with the husband's agreement to the compensation she or another offers. A khul' results in an irrevocable minor separation (bainuna sughra). Anything that is validly considered property is valid as compensation in khul'. If the compensation for khul' is the dower, the settlement is limited to what was received of the dower, and any remaining portion, even if deferred, is waived. It is not permissible to agree that the compensation in khul' be the waiver of any of the children's rights to their maintenance or custody. If the husband obstinately refuses to accept the khul' compensation, the court shall rule for dissolution in exchange for

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The Federal Supreme Court

suitable compensation that it determines. Khul' is valid from spouses of full legal capacity, and the compensation in khul' is valid with the capacity of the one providing the compensation. The spouses must document the khul' according to the procedures in force before the competent court within a maximum period of (15) fifteen days. Any interested party may apply to the court to prove it by any means of proof. It is also established by the text of the fourth paragraph of Article 66 of the aforementioned law that "if the husband obstinately refuses to accept the khul' compensation, the court shall rule for dissolution in exchange for suitable compensation that it determines." The import of this latter text is that the legislator has adopted the view that just as Sharia has given a man the right to divorce a wife he dislikes and cannot live with, it has also given a woman the right to separate (khul') from a man she dislikes and is unable to live with under any circumstances. Just as the Wise Legislator restricted the husband's right to divorce his wife with conditions he must observe, such as bearing the loss of the dower he had given the woman and keeping her in her home for the duration of her waiting period, and that he will not be able to marry her again if he divorces her for the third time without a valid intervening marriage (tahleel), so too does He give the woman the right of khul' and restricts it with several conditions. These are that the khul' be in a situation where transgressing the limits of Allah is feared, that the woman sacrifices wealth by returning to him some or all of what she had taken as dower, and that the separation is completed by the husband's acceptance of this wealth and then his divorcing her. If the woman offers the ransom to the man and he does not accept it, she has the right to resort to the court in case of the husband's obstinacy. The reason for the wife's request for khul' is her dislike of her husband. The text in Article 66 mentioned above states, "if the husband obstinately refuses to accept the khul' compensation...", which indicates that the wife is not required to prove her claim of dislike with evidence, as it is an internal matter for which evidence cannot be conceived. She is also not required to prove harm inflicted upon her or discord between her and her husband, as that is required in lawsuits for divorce due to harm or discord. Rather, the court must seek to reconcile the parties. If it is unable to do so, it should seek an agreement between them on the khul' compensation. If they do not agree, it should present the khul' compensation offered by the plaintiff to the defendant for his say. If they do not agree on a specific compensation and the defendant insists on keeping his wife, the court must rule for the compensation it deems appropriate, in accordance with the aforementioned text, with reasons justifying its judgment, and these reasons must be sufficient to support its ruling. The collective understanding of the texts is that if a husband refuses his wife's request for khul', and it becomes clear to the court that reconciliation between the spouses is impossible and that the discord between them has reached a point where it is feared they will not uphold the limits of Allah, and that the husband is being obstinate in his refusal of khul', then it shall rule for khul' in exchange for the compensation the court deems appropriate, opting for the lesser of two harms... As this was the case, and the appealed judgment, which upheld the primary judgment, did not encompass the aforementioned Sharia rules and the facts presented before it,

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The Federal Supreme Court

concerning khul', and did not take into consideration that marriage is originally a consensual contract and the lack of continued cohabitation in an acceptable manner between the spouses, the existing and ongoing discord in its Sharia sense since 2010, the escalation of conflict, aversion, and dispute, and the presumption of non-fulfillment of Sharia rights, and considering that the material event represented by the continuous disputes, repeated lawsuits, and criminal complaints is proven by Sharia-compliant evidence, including official documents, testimony, presumptions, and implicit admission, and the appealed judgment did not take all of this into consideration, nor the rule of Sharia balance, the psychological state of the spouses and their difficult circumstances, and the failure to refer the case for investigation to prove the state of obstinacy or lack thereof, while the appellant adhered to this defense, along with a misunderstanding of the reality, an error in assessing the circumstances of the parties, and a deficiency in reasoning, which led to a violation of the provisions of the glorious Islamic Sharia and the law, which necessitates its reversal without the need to examine the remaining grounds of appeal, with the reversal to be accompanied by a remand.