Nikah halala is a practice in which a woman, after being divorced by triple talaq, marries another man, consummates the marriage, and gets divorced again in order to be able to remarry her former husband. Nikah means marriage and halala means to make something halal, or permissible. This form of marriage is haram according to the hadith of Islamic prophet Muhammad. Nikah halala is practiced by a small minority of Muslims, mainly in countries that recognise the triple talaq.
In classical Islamic law, a husband may divorce by simply announcing to his wife that he repudiates her. The initial declaration of talaq is a revocable repudiation which does not terminate the marriage. The husband can revoke the divorce at any time during the waiting period which lasts three full menstrual cycles. Resumption of sexual relations automatically retracts the repudiation. The divorce becomes final when the waiting period expires. This is called a "minor" divorce and the couple can remarry. If the husband repudiates his wife for the third time, it triggers a "major" divorce, after which the couple cannot remarry without an intervening consummated marriage by the wife to another man. This is known as tahlil or nikah halala. Making the third pronouncement irrevocable acts as a deterrent to rash repudiations. It is not permissible to marry a woman if one's objective is to make her permissible for her first husband per classical Islamic law. There are hadith from that confirm that entering a tahleel marriage with the intention of divorcing so that the original spouses can be remarry is forbidden. Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah reported that both the first husband and the temporary husband were cursed by God, and Ibn Majah calls the temporary husband "a borrowed billy-goat". Al-Hakim Nishapuri adds that marriage should be based on genuine intentions, and that in the time of Muhammad, tahleel spouses would have been consideded adulterers.
UK
A BBC report found that halala is practised in certain Pakistani Muslim communities in the UK. The report uncovered many instances where women were socially and sexually exploited by local religious figures.
India
Petitions have been filed by many Muslim women in Indian Supreme Court against nikah halala. In March 2018, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Indian government on the issue of nikah halala and polygamy. The BJP-ruled government is in favor of criminalizing nikah halala as the government believes that the practice is against the principles of gender justice, and made its stand clear in the apex court on the issue. Muslim women's rights organizations have welcomed the attitude of the Government and stated that these initiatives should have been taken much earlier. The Supreme Court of India will hear the petition against nikah halala and polygamy in Muslim communities from July 20, 2018. On Sept 13, 2018, a Muslim woman named Shabnam Rani was attacked with acid. She was one of the petitioners against the practice of nikah halala. Islamic radicals are the main suspects. On Sept 18, 2018 the Supreme Court asked the government to provide adequate security to the lady.
