Can a husband issue a divorce to his wife if he has not yet paid her Mahr?

Q. If a person has issued his wife three divorces verbally but he has not payed his wife her Mahr nor has he written it on paper officially, will the Talaaq be valid?

A. It is not a condition for the validity of a Talaaq that the husband pay Mahr to his wife before issuing the Talaaq or to have the verbalized statement of Talaaq put down in writing. If the husband issued the Talaaq verbally to his wife and the husband did not pay his wife Mahr or did not put it down in writing, the Talaaq will still remain valid. Yes, it still remains an obligation on the husband to pay his wife her Mahr if he did not do so before issuing the Talaaq.

Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ismaeel Bassa

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