A Thumbprint on a Divorce Deed Without Knowledge of Its Contents

Question

Zayd married Hinda on the condition that he would marry his sister to one of Hinda’s relatives. After the nikah, Zayd gave no answer to the marriage request of Hinda’s relatives, so Hinda’s relatives kept Hinda back (Hinda and Zayd were never alone together) and pressed for talaq. Finally, after a year, Zayd gave a written talaq. Zayd is unaware: he does not know what kind of talaq the document contains — they simply took his thumbprint.

Answer

If he placed his thumbprint with knowledge of the contents, it is valid; that is, if the divorce deed was written and read out to Zayd fully and accurately, and after that Zayd placed his thumb on the divorce deed, then according to the Shari‘a talaq has taken effect on Hinda: [ar]رجل استكتب من رجل آخر إلى امرأته كتابًا بطلاقها وقرأه على الزوج فأخذه وطواه وختم وكتب في عنوانه…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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