Imamate of one who keeps an irrevocably divorced wife without halala

Question

A man gave his wife a divorce (talaq). When the Shari‘a ruling on it was sought, the respected ‘ulama’, establishing that an irrevocable divorce (talaq mughallaza) had occurred, gave the ruling that halala [was required]. But this man considers halala a disgrace and, maintaining the conjugal relationship, keeps his wife with him. This man is the imam of the five daily prayers, and he is also sometimes the imam of Jumu‘a, the two Eids and so on. In the above situation, is he qualified for the imamate or not?

Answer

Keeping a woman on whom an irrevocable divorce (talaq mughallaza) has already fallen without halala is haram; its prohibition is established by a definitive text (nass qat‘i): [ar]فَإِن طَلَّقَهَا فَلَا تَحِلُّ لَهُۥ مِنۢ بَعْدُ حَتَّىٰ تَنكِحَ زَوْجًا غَيْرَهُۥ[/ar] “And if he divorces her [a third time], then she is not lawful to him afterwards until she marries a husband…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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