402. The right of women to divorce husbands.

Islam requires men to divorce their wives only after making adequate arrangements for them in the best they can afford. (Please refer to point no, 74). 

Verse (2:229) of the Quran says those women who dislike their husbands can go in for separation with them, by paying the required compensation due to them.

Similar to rights granted to men to divorce their wives, the women are also entitled to get rid of their husbands if they dislike them. 

Some scholars, having misunderstood this verse of the Quran, say women can get divorced from their husbands only after paying their due compensation to their husbands. 

They cite the phrase found in the verse ‘there is no harm in getting separated from her, when she pays an adequate compensation to him’.

This does not mean the wife pay as much as the husband demands, but returns the dower she received from him at the time of marriage between them, this can be observed by going through the verse from the beginning. ‘You (men) are not to take back whatever was given to them in marriage’ can be found in the initial words of the verse.

When a demand for divorce arises from the wife’s side, what was prohibited in the first few words of the verse is permitted in the later part of the verse.

It says, the husband when divorcing his wife should not claim back the dower given to her on marriage.

While the same can be reclaimed by the husband if the wife demands divorce is the message conveyed through this verse (2:229) of the Quran. And it also does not mean the husband can claim more than that was given to the wife at the time of marriage.

Prophet Muhammad has also ruled on the basis of this concept in cases relating to marital disputes. (Bukhari:5273). 

To know more about divorce in Islam, please refer to points 66, 69, 70, 74, 386, 424 in these explanations.