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Refutations

Halalah in Islam: Hadith Evidence and Scholarly Refutation of Taḥlīl Marriage

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The Islamic Ruling on Planned Ḥalālah / Taḥlīl Marriage

For English ReadersThis article explains the Islamic ruling on planned ḥalālah, also called taḥlīl marriage.

In simple terms, this refers to a man marrying a divorced woman with the intention of making her lawful again for her first husband, then divorcing her so that the first husband can remarry her.

The sources gathered here show that this practice is cursed, prohibited, and treated by major scholars as invalid when done with this intention or condition.

Table of Contents

What Is Planned Ḥalālah?

Meaning of Muḥallil and Muḥallal LahuMuḥallil: the man who marries the divorced woman in order to make her lawful again for her first husband.

Muḥallal lahu: the first husband for whom she is being made lawful.

ImportantThis article is not about a normal second marriage that happens genuinely, without arrangement, trickery, or pre-planned divorce.

It is about the corrupt practice where marriage is used as a legal trick to bypass the ruling of divorce.

Core Prophetic Evidence

Bulūgh al-Marām — Marriage ChapterNarrated Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:

The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ cursed the man who made a woman lawful for her first husband and the one for whom she was made lawful.

Reported by Aḥmad, al-Nasāʾī, and al-Tirmidhī, and al-Tirmidhī declared it authentic.

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage

For English ReadersThe Prophet ﷺ did not merely dislike this practice.

The narration uses the word curse, which shows the severity of the act. The curse is directed at both sides:

  1. The man who performs the arranged marriage.
  2. The first husband for whom the woman is being made lawful again.

Ḥadīth Evidence from Major Collections

Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ

Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ 3296–3297ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ cursed the man who made a woman lawful for her first husband and the one for whom she was made lawful.

The note explains that this refers to an arrangement to marry a divorced woman and then divorce her after intercourse so that the one who divorced her may remarry her.

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 1
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 1

ExplanationThis source explicitly defines the condemned act as an arranged marriage for the purpose of returning the woman to her previous husband.

Sunan Abī Dāwūd

Sunan Abī Dāwūd 2076The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Curse be upon the one who marries a divorced woman with the intention of making her lawful for her former husband and upon the one for whom she is made lawful.”

Graded authentic.

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 2
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 2

Sunan Ibn Mājah — The Borrowed Goat

Sunan Ibn Mājah 1936ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:

“Shall I not tell you of a borrowed billy goat?”

They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allāh.”

He said:

“He is the muḥallil. May Allāh curse the muḥallil and the muḥallal lahu.”

Graded ḥasan.

For English ReadersThe phrase “borrowed billy goat” is a severe expression of humiliation.

It shows how ugly this practice is: the man is being used temporarily, not entering a dignified marriage.

Sunan Ibn Mājah — Ibn ʿAbbās

Sunan Ibn Mājah 1934Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما said:

“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ cursed the muḥallil and the muḥallal lahu.”

Graded authentic.

Repeated TransmissionThe ruling is not based on a single isolated report.

The curse is narrated through multiple Companions, including Ibn Masʿūd, Ibn ʿAbbās, and ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir رضي الله عنهم.

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 3
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 3

Why the Curse Matters

Legal SeverityIn Islamic law, when the Prophet ﷺ curses an action or the people involved in it, this indicates that the act is a major sin.

Planned ḥalālah is therefore not a harmless legal device. It is treated as a cursed act.

The ProblemPlanned ḥalālah turns marriage into a tool of manipulation.

Marriage is supposed to be a serious covenant, not a temporary arrangement used to make a previous relationship legally possible again.

Scholarly Explanation

Allāmah al-Ṣanʿānī

Allāmah al-ṢanʿānīThe ḥadīth is evidence for the prohibition of taḥlīl, because curse only occurs upon the doer of something prohibited.

Every prohibited act is forbidden, and the prohibition indicates the corruption of the contract.

For English ReadersAl-Ṣanʿānī’s argument is direct:
  1. The Prophet ﷺ cursed the muḥallil and the muḥallal lahu.
  2. A curse indicates prohibition.
  3. If the marriage is built on this prohibited purpose, the contract is corrupt.
  4. Therefore, planned taḥlīl is not a valid way to make the woman lawful again.
    halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 4
    halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 4

Ibn Qudāmah

Ibn QudāmahIn summary, the marriage of the muḥallil is unlawful and invalid according to the general body of the people of knowledge.

The statement continues that this was narrated from a group of Companions, and no disagreement from them is known, so it is treated as consensus.

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 5
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 5

For English ReadersIbn Qudāmah states two major points:
  • Planned taḥlīl marriage is ḥarām.
  • It is also invalid according to the majority/general body of scholars.

Ibn al-Qayyim

Ibn al-Qayyim — Iʿlām al-MuwaqqiʿīnIbn al-Qayyim collects the narrations concerning the curse of the muḥallil and the muḥallal lahu, mentioning reports from multiple Companions and routes.

He emphasizes that the Prophet ﷺ cursed both the one who performs the arrangement and the one for whom it is done.

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 6
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 6

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 7
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 7

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 8
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 8

Ibn al-Qayyim’s CriticismIbn al-Qayyim strongly criticizes the social reality of people searching for someone willing to perform this ugly arrangement.

He describes how people may look for a shameless person to enter such a marriage after triple divorce, making the woman temporarily available and then returning her to the first husband.

His tone shows moral disgust toward the practice.

Ibn Taymiyyah

Ibn Taymiyyah — Majmūʿ al-FatāwāIbn Taymiyyah was asked about the form of taḥlīl practiced by people: a man marries a divorced woman so that she may return to her first husband.

He answered that this is the taḥlīl which is cursed in the Sunnah.

He states that such a marriage does not make her lawful for the first husband.

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 9
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 9

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 10
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 10

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 11
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 11

halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 12
halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 12

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halalah in islam hadith evidence and scholarly refutation of tall marriage 13

For English ReadersIbn Taymiyyah makes the ruling extremely clear:
  • If the second marriage is done for taḥlīl, it is cursed.
  • The second husband is not a genuine husband in the intended Islamic sense.
  • The woman does not become lawful again for the first husband through this trick.

Ibn Taymiyyah on Conditional and Customary Taḥlīl

Condition or CustomIbn Taymiyyah explains that the ruling applies whether the arrangement is:
  • explicitly written as a condition,
  • verbally agreed upon,
  • understood by custom,
  • or intended by the parties.
For English ReadersThis closes the fake loophole where people say:

“We did not write it in the contract.”

According to this reasoning, if the intention and arrangement are known, hiding the condition does not purify the marriage.

Ibn Taymiyyah on Deceptive Cases

Ibn TaymiyyahHe was asked about a man who marries a woman divorced three times, while intending to make her lawful for the first husband, then divorces her afterward.

He answered that this is forbidden and does not make her lawful for the first husband.

ImportantThe ruling is not avoided by silence.

If the purpose is taḥlīl, the act remains taḥlīl.

Genuine Second MarriageIf a woman is divorced finally, then later she genuinely marries another man, lives in a real marriage, and that marriage ends naturally through divorce or death without prior arrangement, then this is a different case.
Planned ḤalālahBut if the second marriage is arranged from the beginning so that she becomes lawful again for the first husband, then this is the cursed taḥlīl condemned in the narrations.
Do Not Confuse the TwoA genuine marriage is not the same as a staged marriage.

The entire issue depends on whether the second marriage is real or whether it is being used as a temporary legal device.

The Evidence Chain
  1. Prophetic narrations curse the muḥallil and muḥallal lahu.
  2. Ḥadīth collections preserve this ruling through multiple Companions.
  3. Classical scholars explain that the curse proves prohibition.
  4. Jurists such as Ibn Qudāmah, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Taymiyyah, and al-Ṣanʿānī treat planned taḥlīl as unlawful, corrupt, and not a valid way to restore the first marriage.

Final Conclusion

ConclusionPlanned ḥalālah is not an Islamic solution.

It is a cursed practice in the Sunnah, condemned through multiple narrations, and rejected by major scholars.

The Prophet ﷺ cursed both:

  • the man who performs the temporary arrangement,
  • and the first husband for whom the woman is made lawful.

The scholars explain that this curse indicates prohibition, corruption of the contract, and the invalidity of using such a staged marriage to make the woman lawful again for her previous husband.

Final TakeawayIslam does not treat marriage as a loophole.

Marriage is a serious covenant, and using it as a temporary trick after divorce is exactly what the Sunnah condemned.