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Ratq (the closure of the female passage): its effect on the marriage, on the option to annul, on cure, maintenance and division

الرتق

Ratq is the opposite of splitting; in the jurists' usage it is the closure of the place of intercourse by flesh or other matter, and qarn and 'afal are near terms. 1 2 The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis give the husband an option to annul the marriage if he did not know of the closure at the contract; the Hanafis give none. 2 The Malikis delay the case for treatment if the wife asks for it; the Shafi'is do not allow forcing the opening. 2 3 Maintenance is due to her and the husband must divide his nights fairly. 3

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Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
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Family, marriage and kinshipHealth, body and death

Summary

Ratq is the opposite of splitting; in the jurists' usage it is the closure of the place of intercourse by flesh or other matter, and qarn and 'afal are near terms. 1 2 The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis give the husband an option to annul the marriage if he did not know of the closure at the contract; the Hanafis give none. 2 The Malikis delay the case for treatment if the wife asks for it; the Shafi'is do not allow forcing the opening. 2 3 Maintenance is due to her and the husband must divide his nights fairly. 3

People and things also explored

Fleshy growth in the wife's womb and the right to annul (afal)· The clot stage of the embryo (alaqa) and the rulings on its loss· Pregnant woman (hamil) in fiqh· Janin (the unborn child)· The death and burial of Fatima bint Muhammad· The dosing of the Prophet during his illness· The Big Sick· Taj Mahal

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8619
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8620
  3. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3) , p.8621
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Ratq (the closure of the female passage): its effect on the marriage, on the option to annul, on cure, maintenance and division”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/ratq-fiqh/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Fleshy growth in the wife's womb and the right to annul (afal)

In the lexicon, afal is a fleshy growth in a woman's genital passage, which arises after childbirth and not in virgins; some say it is a swelling that narrows the passage until penetration is impossible. Some jurists distinguish it from ratq, a closure from birth; both are defects that give an option to end the marriage. The Malikis and Hanbalis hold that it gives the husband an option to annul the marriage, since it defeats the marriage's main purpose; Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf hold that neither spouse has such an option. The Shafi'is count ratq and qaran, another closure, as defects peculiar to women that give the option.