Acting on the fatwa of one who does not follow taqlid after three talaqs is not permissible

Question

Question: A man — sane and adult — gave his wife three talaqs; there are two witnesses to this, and he himself admits: “I gave three talaqs.” However, by paying some money to a religious scholar from among those who do not follow taqlid (that is, who follow none of the four madhhabs), he obtained a fatwa that he may keep his wife without halala. So, without halala, merely by repenting, he kept his wife. Two religious scholars also cited “Fatawa ‘Abd al-Hayy” (vol. 1, Book of Talaq, p. 486)

Answer

If anyone, at a time of dire need, obtains a fatwa according to the school of any one of the four imams — Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi‘i and Ahmad ﵏ — and acts on it, then there is scope for this in the Shari‘a. Dire need is when there is a strong fear of falling into the gravest corruptions. For example, a woman’s husband has gone missing (mafqud)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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