Comparative Analysis of the Status of Abandonment of Marital Life in Imami Jurisprudence and the Legal Systems of Egypt, Jordan, and France Regarding Divorce at the Wife’s Request

Abstract

The present study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the status of abandonment of marital life in Imami jurisprudence and in the three legal systems of Egypt, Jordan, and France with respect to divorce initiated by the wife. This research has been carried out using a descriptive–analytical and comparative method, based on documentary and library studies, examining Imami fiqh texts, personal status laws, and judicial precedents of the three countries. The findings indicate that in Imami jurisprudence, abandonment of marital life is regarded as grounds for compelling the husband to divorce, within frameworks such as ‘usr wa ḥaraj (hardship and harm), nushūz (marital disobedience), and failure to provide maintenance. In the legal systems of Egypt and Jordan, the concept of abandonment of marital life is interpreted through the institutions of khulʿ and judicial annulment, enabling the wife to petition the court for divorce by offering financial compensation or relinquishing her dowry. In French law, abandonment of the marital home or cessation of cohabitation constitutes one of the recognized grounds for judicial divorce without the husband’s consent, assessed according to the criterion of “irretrievable breakdown of the marital bond.” From a comparative perspective, although all systems consider abandonment of marital life a basis for dissolving marriage, their primary differences lie in the foundations of legitimacy and the conditions required for its realization. Imami jurisprudence and the laws of Islamic countries are grounded in religious and financial principles, whereas French law adopts a civil and individual-centered approach. The ultimate purpose of this study is to clarify the points of convergence and divergence in order to propose a more coherent framework for protecting the wife’s rights in cases of marital abandonment.