Marriage, Divorce, and Family Law

Al-Tahawi's treatment of marriage law begins with the conditions for a valid marriage contract (aqd al-nikah). The Hanafi school requires an offer (ijab) from the woman's side and acceptance (qabul) from the man's side, or vice versa, witnessed by at least two free adult Muslim males or one male and two females. The guardian (wali) is not a formal condition for the validity of an adult woman's marriage in the Hanafi school, unlike the position of the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools: a free adult Muslim woman of sound mind may contract her own marriage, though it is disliked without a guardian's involvement and the judge may dissolve a marriage where the husband is of clearly unsuitable social standing. This Hanafi position derives from Abu Hanifa's reading of the Quranic verse 'until she marries another husband' (2:230), which he takes as addressing the woman directly as a contracting party.

The types of divorce recognized in the Hanafi school are numerous, reflecting the school's detailed engagement with the various forms of marital dissolution mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah. Talaq (repudiation) may be express (sarih), using recognized divorce words, or allusive (kinayah), using ambiguous words that are interpreted by intent. The 'best' (ahsan) form of divorce is a single pronouncement during a period of purity, followed by letting the waiting period elapse without revoking it. The 'good' (hasan) form is three pronouncements, one each in three successive periods of purity. The 'bad' (bid'i) forms include pronouncing three divorces simultaneously or during menstruation, which are sinful but still legally effective in the Hanafi school, a position that generated considerable scholarly discussion across the madhabs.

The waiting period (iddah) serves multiple legal purposes: to determine the paternity of any child born after dissolution, to allow for potential reconciliation, and to fulfill the woman's right to maintenance during the period. For a divorced woman who menstruates, the iddah is three complete menstrual cycles (quru'), which the Hanafi school interprets as three complete cycles of purity rather than three menstrual bleedings, differing here from the Maliki and Hanbali reading. For a woman who does not menstruate, whether due to age or other reasons, the iddah is three lunar months. For a pregnant woman, the iddah extends until she delivers the child, regardless of how long that takes. A woman widowed by her husband's death observes four months and ten days, or until delivery if pregnant, whichever is longer.

Financial obligations in marriage are carefully defined by al-Tahawi. The husband owes the wife the mahr (dower), which becomes fully due upon consummation or valid seclusion (khalwah sahihah) with the wife. The wife is also entitled to maintenance (nafaqa) covering food, clothing, and housing suitable to both parties' social standing for as long as the marriage subsists or the waiting period continues after divorce. After a revocable divorce during the iddah, full maintenance is due; after an irrevocable divorce, maintenance is due only until the iddah ends, except for a pregnant woman who retains maintenance until delivery. Guardianship (wilayah) of children follows Hanafi rules: the mother has custody (hadanah) of sons until approximately seven years and daughters until puberty, after which the father assumes custodial responsibility, subject to the judge's power to transfer custody if the interests of the child require it.