Effects of Social Changes on Rules of Mafqūd al-Khabar: An Analytical Review

Mafqūd al-Khabar refers to a missing person whose fate—whether alive or dead—remains unknown. Traditionally, the Ḥanafī school of law required a wife to wait up to sixty years, or effectively her lifetime, for her missing husband. However, Imām Mālik’s opinion, later adopted by many Ḥanafī jurists, offers a more practical and compassionate approach. Contemporary legal systems, including Pakistan’s, have incorporated this principle by permitting dissolution of marriage (Tansīkh) after four years of disappearance, with an additional six-month waiting period following the court order. Comparative analysis reveals that in countries such as Iraq the waiting period is also four years, while in Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan, it is reduced to one year. This study analytically examines how evolving social contexts have shaped the interpretation and application of classical jurisprudential rulings regarding missing persons.