Discover the meaning of the term Al-khlʿ (خلع) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 2 min readThe removal of the ownership of marriage in exchange for taking wealth.
With damma: stripping and separation; one says 'khala'a na'la-hu wa thawba-hu' (he took off his sandal and garment) when he removed them; and 'khala'at al-mar'a zawja-ha': when the woman ransomed herself from her husband. In the Sharia: separation from marriage by taking wealth with the very word of khul'; what follows from it is the irrevocable divorce (talaq ba'in); when he says 'khala'tuki' (I khul'-divorce you), the irrevocable divorce takes effect.
(With damma of the emphatic kha and sukun of the lam): in language: doffing, removal, stripping and baring; from 'khala'a al-rajul' (the man took off)
With damma or fatha of the kha: in language, removal absolutely; with damma, in the Sharia, the specific removal; thus in al-Durr.
Of the crop: 'khala'a': it leafed and the grain formed within it. : Its leaf fell. : Of the thing, 'khala'a-hu khil'an': he removed it. : Of the ruler: he deposed him. : 'Khala'a 'udhara-hu': he forsook modesty and followed his desire. : 'Khala'a imra'ata-hu khil'an': he divorced her against payment from her wealth. 'Fulan khila'': he forsook modesty and followed his desire; he is then khali'.
The separation between the two spouses for a counter-value taken by the husband.
Stripping; 'khala'at zawja-ha': she ransomed herself from him. The noun is al-khul' (with damma), borrowed from the doffing of a garment, for each is a garment for the other: when both do it, it is as if each had stripped the garment of the other.