is entitled to dowry. But it is the arbiters spoken of in 4:35, and referred to here in the words “if you fear that they cannot keep within the limits of Allāh,” that shall decide whether the husband or the wife is responsible for the breach and which of them is entitled to the dowry.
The wife is also entitled to a divorce if the husband is missing, or mafqūd al-khabar, which means that he has disappeared and cannot be communicated with; because, though there is no shiqāq in this case, yet the husband is unable to fulfil his marital obligations. There is no definite statement in the Holy Qur’ān or Ḥadīth to show how long the wife should wait in such a case. The Ḥanafī law on this point is very unreasonable, requiring the wife to wait for 120 to 100 years, according to the opinions of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and Abū Yūsuf respectively (H.I, pp. 598, 599). The Shāfi‘ī law requires seven years’ waiting, while according to Imām Mālik she should wait for four years (H.I, p. 597). The view of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and the Shī‘ah view agree with Mālik. This is a more reasonable view. Bukhārī has a chapter on the Mafqūd (Bu. 68:22), in which there is no ḥadīth of the Holy Prophet relating to the subject proper, but the view of Ibn al-Musayyab is quoted, according to which when a person becomes mafqūd in the course of fighting, his wife shall wait for at least a year; and a report is added relating to Ibn Mas‘ūd who searched for the husband of a maid-servant of his for one year and then treated him as mafqūd, and this was not the case of a man lost in fighting. Under present conditions when communication is so easy, one year would be a sufficient period of waiting for the mafqūd.
Though the Holy Qur’ān speaks of the divorce being pronounced by the husband, yet a limitation is placed upon the exercise of this right. The following procedure is laid down in clear words: “And if you fear a breach between the two, then appoint an arbiter from his people and an arbiter from her people. If they desire agreement, Allāh will effect harmony between them” (4:35). “And if they separate, Allāh will render them both free from want out of His ampleness” (4:130). It will be seen that in all disputes between the husband and the wife, which it is feared will lead to a breach, two arbiters are to be appointed from