AN ASSESSMENT OF TALAQ AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN ISLAMIC LAW

(A CASE STUDY OF KANO STATE)

By

Author

Presented To

Department of Law

ABSTRACT
The right of divorce (talaq) is vested in the husband by Islamic law to terminate a marriage that fails to achieve its objectives, in order to protect the couples from the possible evil that may result from the failure of marriage. However, in the case of this research, the finding of the writer is that this right of divorce has turned to a tool, for the destruction of family institution as a result of the abuse in its use by some Muslim husbands especially in Kano State. Directorate of societal Reorientation of Kano state in a research conducted about the high rate of divorce in the state in 2008 revealed that out of every two marriages, divorce is recorded. On this note therefore, the statement of the problem of this thesis is that there is high rate of divorce in the society particularly in Kano state which has given rise to negative impact on the society which includes juvenile delinquency, prostitution by young ladies, drug abuse by youth and begging. Thus, the objective of thesis is to identify the reasons for the prevalence of divorce in the society particularly in Kano state and to proffer measures to addressing them. This objective was achieved by examining the rules and regulations guiding the exercise of divorce in Islamic Law in relation to how divorce is effected in Kano State to determine whether or not the practice is in conformity with the provision of Islamic Law and to examine the reasons responsible for the high incidence of divorce in the state. On this basis, interviews were made with relevant government institutions and stakeholders such as Kano State Hisbah Board, the divorcees and Muslim Scholars. The research finally concluded by recommending that the government and other relevant stakeholders should engage in massive enlightment strategies so as to guide the Muslim community on the rules and regulation of talaq and the thesis also recommends provision of sanction where necessary to make people comply with rules on talaq. The sources of information relied upon here, are the Qur‘an, Hadith, judicial authorities and the internet materials.