Is the wife obligated to return the dowry to her husband after khulʿ and a prior agreement not to return any of it, and after four years have passed since the khulʿ?
Disputes and disagreements cannot be resolved by a issued remotely. Their resolution rests with the judiciary or with an arbiter mutually agreed upon by the spouses.
The validity of khul' (divorce at the wife's instance) without compensation is a matter of scholarly disagreement, with the majority holding that it is invalid. One group of scholars, including Imam Malik and one narration from Imam Ahmad, deem it valid, considering it a dissolution of marriage, similar to (pronouncement of divorce by the husband). Another group, including Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Al-Shafi'i, and another narration from Imam Ahmad, believe that it is not valid without compensation. If it is without compensation and the husband intended it as a divorce, then it is considered a divorce; otherwise, it is nothing.
If the wife agrees to return the dowry to the husband, there is no objection. Otherwise, the matter must be presented to the Sharia court or to trusted scholars.
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