Islam disapproves of divorce immensely, and in this
connection it has cautioned its followers to be very careful, and has pointed out the steps that the spouses have to take for reconciliation in the event of disagreement between them. It has also laid down the correct
procedure of giving divorce if it becomes inevitable to do so. In this connection the basic point to note is that Islam has permitted only the divorce to be given on one occasion, but a very large number of Muslims is unaware of these teachings of lslam and because of the moral and social corruption a number of people put divorce to wrong and improper use by giving three divorces at one and the same time, and feel sorry, afterwards. In view of this situation, an urgent necessity is felt to educate the people about the Islamic teachings concerning divorce and to show to
them its correct procedure. This pamphlet has been written mainly with this purpose in view, but it can be useful from this angle too that those critics, who deride the Islamic shariah laws after seeing wrong procedures of divorce generally followed by the Muslims, would be able
to see what was the procedure really laid down by Islam and what procedure is actually being followed by many of its followers. We pray that this pamphlet may prove helpful in effecting the much- needed reform.

NIKAH—A PLEDGE OF LOYALTY

Nikah is that strong relationship in which the Shariah Law binds man and woman. This relationship leaves deep impressions on the social life. For this reason Islam wants that this relationship should be more and more strong. Accordingly in the holy Qur’an it has been termed as a firm
pledge: “and they (women) had taken from you firm pledge.” (Surah An- Nisa-21)

Biblical Doctrine
In earlier generations, this question was very seldom raised, simply because divorce was almost never encountered among Christians and was
unusual even in the general population. Today, however, it has become a very real problem in evangelical Christian circles. Infidelity is no longer rare, even among Christian leaders, and one can hear almost weekly of some new pastoral “affair” and its traumatic effect on his church. With such examples in the leadership, it is bound to be even more common among the ordinary members, and the
resulting decline in the stability of the Christian home today
is surely one of the more alarming signs of the times.
In the past, attempts to deal with this question on a Biblical
basis have tended to be somewhat academic, probably
because the very idea of divorce was so alien to the
expositor's own experiences. Nowadays, however, since the
tragedy of divorce has spread so widely that almost every
Christian has encountered it not only in his church but also
among his close friends and relatives, it is vitally important
that we seek to deal with it both Biblically and
sympathetically. First of all, the divine standard for marriage is lifelong commitment to one's spouse, and nothing else. Even though. divorce was permitted in some cases under the Old Testament economy, Christ made it plain that this was not God's ideal. When He was asked this very question, “He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let
not man put asunder” ( Matthew 19:4-6).
This seems very comprehensive and conclusive, yet He
immediately followed up this statement with the following
apparent exception: “Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery” ( Matthew 19:9; see also Matthew 5:31, 32).