Faskh

Is lack of being intimate a valid reason for divorce?

Q: I am 29 years old. Me and wife have been married for 3 years. She does not like having sex with me or having any kind of intimate relationship. This leads to a lot of frustration for me. We do not fight about this because I try to be as understanding as possible but sometimes I feel really pathetic when I think about this issue between us. We have finally decided to go ahead with a divorce and will be speaking to our parents soon. I just need to know if lack of sex is a valid reason for divorce in Islam?

Faskh

Q: My husband (hanafi) was previously married to a shafi girl from a certain town. Things never worked out due to family influence on her side and she went back to her home town. She approached the ulama in her town for help and the ulama sent my husband a letter stating that he has to attend a meeting at a given date and time. My husband never attended the meeting nor answered the calls from her or from the Ulama. Thereafter he received another letter stating that his then wife is requesting for a faskh with a request for another meeting. My husband never attended that meeting as well. He received another letter stating that the faskh went through and that he must go to sign the necessary documents, but never done so.

4 Months after the fasigh went through he proposed to me and we got married 3 months there after, alhamdulillah. Now a few weeks ago, the matter came about, suggesting that he is still married to his first wife.

Regarding the given situation above I need advice on the following:

- Is he still married to her?

- If he is, what steps should he take?

- What are my rights? (At the time of the proposal I never knew he got "divorced" and when he proposed I said that I cannot be a second wife.) 

Applying for faskh

Q: I have been married for almost 10 years. I have 2 wonderful boys. My husband was a recovering addict when we got married, with my 1st pregnancy he relapsed and since then it's been rehab in and out. He has been in and out of work also. Recently he was detained, I have however helped him through all this because I love him. I'm so tired of this uneasy marriage as happiness only last for so long. His addiction is affecting the kids especially my eldest of 9yrs old... Is it wrong of me to want to walk away from this marriage? He keeps on promising that it's the last but then he ends up disappearing for days and I'm not even sure if he has someone else in his life. He disappeared again on Saturday evening and this time around took my wedding bans probably to sell it.

Can I asked for Faskh? I have tried to hold on to this marriage but I cannot endure all this hardship, sleepless nights and stress. I'm emotionally drained.

Asking for divorce after faskh

Q: When fasakh has taken place, does the wife still need to ask the husband for a divorce or is it that because the nikah is now cancelled out they are no longer partners so therefore asking for a divorce wouldn't make sense as they are no longer spouses. How long is the iddat once fasakh has taken place?