It reached Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, that Sa'id bin al-Musayyib said: If a person marries a woman and the husband turns out to have insanity or any other disease (such as leprosy or vitiligo), then the woman has the choice, whether to stay with the man or to separate from him.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If a slave girl comes into the marriage of a slave, then is freed before consummation, and chooses separation from her husband, then she will not receive a dowry. This is the ruling according to us.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Ibn Shihab, may Allah have mercy on him, used to say: When a man divorces his wife and the woman chooses her husband, then divorce will not take effect.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I have heard this as good.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: When a man gives his wife the choice and the woman chooses herself (i.e., desires separation from her husband), then three divorces will take effect. If the husband says: I only gave the choice of one divorce, this will not be accepted.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If the husband gave his wife the choice of divorce, the woman said: I have accepted one divorce, the husband said: That was not my intention, I gave you the choice of three divorces, but the woman accepts only one divorce and does not take more, then she will not be separated from her husband.

It is narrated from Ibn Shihab (may Allah have mercy on him) that he used to say: When a man gives his wife the right of choice, and then the woman chooses him (her husband), then this choice will not be counted as a divorce.

Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This is the best statement that I have heard regarding this issue.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding the woman who is given the choice (to separate): When her husband gives her the choice (to separate), and then she chooses herself (and leaves her husband), then she will have three divorces. If her husband says, "I only gave you the choice of one divorce and nothing more," then this statement will not be accepted in favor of the husband, and this is the best statement that I have heard.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And if her husband gives her the choice and she says, "I have accepted one divorce," and the husband says, "I did not mean the option of one divorce, I only gave you the option of three divorces together," then (in this case) undoubtedly, if the woman does not accept anything except one, (she will not be divorced at all) she will remain with her husband and this (action among them) will not be a cause of separation.

SA Benefit: EA According to all other Imams and Ahl al-Hadith except Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, in the mentioned case, one divorce will take place.

Sayyida Habibah bint Sahl (may Allah be pleased with her) was married to Sayyiduna Thabit bin Qais (may Allah be pleased with him). One day, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out in the darkness for the Fajr prayer and found Sayyida Habibah bint Sahl (may Allah be pleased with her) at the door. He asked, "Who is it?" She replied, "I am Habibah bint Sahl, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)!" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Why, what is the matter?" She said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! It is either me or Thabit bin Qais." When Sayyiduna Thabit bin Qais (may Allah be pleased with him) came, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, "Habibah bint Sahl has said to me what Allah willed." Sayyida Habibah bint Sahl (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! What Thabit bin Qais gave me is still with me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Thabit bin Qais (may Allah be pleased with him), "Take back your property." He took it, and Sayyida Habibah bint Sahl (may Allah be pleased with her) remained in her family.

The slave woman of Safiyyah bint Abi Ubayd took khul‘ from her husband in exchange for all her wealth, and Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) did not consider it objectionable.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If a woman gives wealth to free herself, and then it becomes known that the husband was entirely unjust and the woman had no fault, rather the husband forcibly took her money by coercion, then the divorce will take effect upon the woman, and her wealth will be returned to her. This is what I have heard and, in my view, this is the ruling.

Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If a woman frees herself by giving more than what her husband gave her, there is nothing objectionable in it.

It is narrated from Nafi that Rabi' bint Mu'awwiz bin 'Afra and her paternal aunt came to Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) and stated that they had taken khul' from their husbands during the time of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). When this news reached Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), he did not object to it. Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: The waiting period ('iddah) of a woman who takes khul' is like the waiting period of a divorced woman.