Chapter on Marital Discord (Shiqaq)
Man Lā Yaḥḍuruh al-Faqīh|Volume 3|Book 4|Chapter 15
وَ رَوَى حَمَّادٌ عَنِ اَلْحَلَبِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ اَلسَّلاَمُ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ قَوْلِ اَللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ: فَابْعَثُوا حَكَماً مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَ حَكَماً مِنْ أَهْلِهٰا قَالَ "لَيْسَ لِلْحَكَمَيْنِ أَنْ يُفَرِّقَا حَتَّى يَسْتَأْمِرَا اَلرَّجُلَ وَ اَلْمَرْأَةَ وَ يَشْتَرِطَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا إِنْ شَاءَا جَمَعَا وَ إِنْ شَاءَا فَرَّقَا فَإِنْ جَمَعَا فَجَائِزٌ وَ إِنْ فَرَّقَا فَجَائِزٌ".
Hammad narrated from Al-Halabi, from Abu Abdullah عليه السلام, who said: I asked him about the saying of Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Mighty and Majestic: "Appoint an arbitrator from his family and an arbitrator from her family" (Surah An-Nisa 4:35). Imam عليه السلام said: "The two arbitrators do not have the authority to separate the couple until they consult both the husband and the wife and set conditions upon them. If they both agree, they may choose to reconcile or separate. If they choose to reconcile, it is valid, and if they choose to separate, it is also valid."
- Ṣaḥīḥ al-Faqīh