Our Journal

What Happens If a Husband Confesses to Lying During Lian — Is He Then Liable for Slander?

A husband who admits, at any point in the lian process, that his accusation was false doesn't simply walk away from the matter — he becomes liable for the punishment of false accusation (qadhf) that the entire procedure existed to test in the first place. This guide explains exactly when that liability attaches and why it applies even after he's already begun swearing his oaths.

Can a Faskh Application Be Refiled if Its Initially Rejected for Insufficient Evidence?

A faskh application that doesn't succeed the first time, often because the evidence wasn't strong enough yet, doesn't have to be the end of the road. This guide explains why many councils build a "postpone" option into their process specifically for this situation, and what a wife should actually do to strengthen and resubmit her case successfully.

Does a Wife Need a Lawyer or Scholar Present With Her During Lian Proceedings?

Lian is always conducted under a judge's direct supervision, but that's a different question from whether a wife should bring her own independent advocate into the room. This guide explains the formal judicial requirement built into lian itself, why broader Sharia council practice increasingly includes legal professionals alongside religious scholars, and why independent representation is genuinely advisable even where it isn't strictly mandated.

How Many Times Can a Faskh Application Be Resubmitted Before a Council Stops Accepting It?

There's no fixed number written into Islamic jurisprudence or most council procedures capping how many times a faskh application can be resubmitted — but that doesn't mean resubmission is unlimited in practice. This guide explains what actually governs how many genuine attempts a wife realistically has, and why the real constraint is about evidence and change in circumstances, not a hard numerical ceiling.

Can a Husband Be Sued for Defamation in Civil Court for a False Lian Accusation?

A false lian accusation carries serious religious consequences — slander liability if the husband confesses to lying — but a wife facing genuine reputational harm may also wonder about civil court. This guide explains how ordinary defamation law treats false accusations of adultery, where a religious proceeding's privilege might come into play, and why pursuing both religious and civil consequences isn't automatically redundant.

Can a Sharia Council Charge Different Fees Based on a Wife Financial Circumstances?

The fees charged for a khula or faskh application aren't always a flat, unchangeable figure — many UK councils build in discretion to waive or reduce them, and there's a real practitioner-driven push for this to become standard practice. This guide explains how fee discretion actually works at real councils, and why a wife on a low income shouldn't assume the published fee is automatically the final word.