A Treatise on Divorce among the Kurds by Sheikh Ahmad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Nudshi (d. 1302 AH – 1944 AD)

Abstract

     This research is an investigation of the manuscript entitled (Divorce of the Kurds) which was written by one of the Kurdish scholars (Mulla Ahmed bin Mulla Abdul Rahman, nicknamed Al-Nudshi d. 1302 AH) and copied by Mulla Othman Al-Khoramli. Al-Nudshi issued a fatwa on this issue that it is clear, in response to those who said that the divorce of the Kurds does not take place because they do not pronounce the word divorce in its correct form. The origin of this issue was researched by jurists in the issue of translating the explicit Arabic words for divorce into other languages. Al-Nudshi used analogy to prove his claim and relied on language, custom, and other evidence, until he concluded that the formula (Talaqam Kutbi) is an explicit formula for divorce because the Kurds are accustomed to using it explicitly to dissolve the marriage bond.

This manuscript is an important source on the issue of Kurdish divorce, as our scholars have differed on this issue, both ancient and modern. It has settled the dispute for those with the slightest fairness. In this manuscript, al-Nudshi has proven with conclusive evidence that the formula (talaqam kutbi) is an explicit formula for divorce, as the Kurds have become accustomed to using it explicitly to dissolve the marriage bond. To prove his claim, al-Nudshi used analogy and relied on language, custom and other evidence. The researchers relied in their investigation on two copies, the first of which is a printed, unverified edition in the book Jawahir al-Fatawa by Sheikh al-Mudarris, and the second is a manuscript copy present in the library of (Researcher: Dr. Ribaz Siddiq Ismail), as it is one of the manuscripts that go back to his great-grandfather, Mulla Othman al-Khormali.