divorce in morocco

hello im new member from uk im british woman.my husband is from casablanca and that is where he lives.our marriage has broken down.we are going to get a divorce.he has never been able to come to the uk due to visa problems so we both need to start our lives again.we got married in august 2007 in like a small office type place with 2 abdouls and his brother there we signed some papers and that was it then we had our wedding party.my husband has told me i need to go to casablanca to get a divorce i cannot go there due to my financial situation here in uk. is there anything i can do here in uk to get divorce started there or can my husband do it without me and how long will it take?

Assalamu Alaikum,

Come on all you native Moroccans; you must know something to help out Mintea. All I know is that the Mudawwana was again reformed last year, subsequent to the major revisions it underwent in the late 1990s.

Mintea, did your wedding take place in Casablanca? Is it registered in your civil status papers in the UK? If it was exclusively an Islamic wedding, your husband can dissolve it whenever he wants to by simply pronouncing you divorced, and your waiting period would commence at that time. It would be roughly three months long and, presumably, as you both want the divorce, there is little chance that he would exercise his right to, as it were, recall you as his wife (which technically he could do, assuming it is a standard divorce and it is the first or second of the three divorces permitted to him under Shariah Law.) … But if the problem has to do with British law, I can’t help you, other than to suggest that you contact your local authorities or the Moroccan Consulate/Embassy.

Why don’t you inquire in your own locality as to how to proceed? It doesn’t seem reasonable that you would be required to travel to Casablanca in order for the paperwork trail to get underway.

By the way, what did you mean by ‘two Abdouls’ having been present at your wedding? Did you mean the two witnesses required by Islamic Law? I’ve never heard such a term before, although ‘Abdoul’ does have a distinct meaning in Arabic. It means ‘the slave/servant of’ and it is exclusively used of males. The equivalent female particle would be ‘Amatul’, and the ‘ul’ part of both words is actually supposed to attach itself to the second word in the ‘construct state’; it is the definite article, ‘the’… which means that the meaning is incomplete, technically.

Hope this information has been of some use to you. Good luck, and my consolations regarding the demise of your marriage.

Sorry can’t help you out here mintea, and sad to hear about your divorce. Ummaryam99, i think she meant Adouls. The ones who conduct the marriage/marriage certificate.

thankyou for your replys yes i did mean adouls and no its not registered here in the uk. i have an appointment thursday with a lawyer here.yes we got maried in casablanca.thankyou again very much.

I am afraid I can’t be very helpful, but I agree with Ummaryam, your presence is not necessary for a divorce.
Good luck.

Sorry for your misfortune, but remember that the Qur’an says, “Inna ma al usri yusra inna ma al usri yusra, fa itha faraghta fansab, wa ila rabbika farghab”

Which means, “Truly, with hardship comes ease; truly, with hardship comes ease. So, when you find yourself completely exhausted, take heart; and unto your Lord let your focus be.”