Following former captain of Pakistan Shoaib Malik on 20th January announced that he had married Pakistani actor Sana Javed in Karachi, his current wife Sania Mirza’s father announced that she has already divorced Malik. “It was a khula,” Sania Mirza’s father Imran Mirza said after Shoaib Malik’s marriage with Sana Javed was announced by Malik.
Khul, also called khula, is a procedure based on traditional jurisprudence, that allows a Muslim woman to unilaterally divorce her husband by applying to the Shariah Council. A married Muslim woman can initiate a divorce under Khula procedure by returning the mahr (obligation in the form of money, possessions or teaching of verses from the Quran by the groom, to the bride at the time of Islamic marriage) and everything she received from him during their life together, or without returning anything, as agreed by the spouses or judge’s decree, depending on the circumstances.
Sania Mirza’s father Imran Mirza has now confirmed Sania Mirza has divorced Shoaib Malik using this Khula procedure under Sharia.
The cricket player, who had a son named Izhaan Mirza Malik with Sania Mirza, shared a photo of himself and his new spouse on social media with the caption “And we created you in pairs.” He also updated his Instagram and removed, “Husband to a Superwoman Sania Mirza” which was written in his bio as well as unfollowed the Indian star a few days back.
– Alhamdullilah ♥️
— Shoaib Malik 🇵🇰 (@realshoaibmalik) January 20, 2024
"And We created you in pairs" وَخَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا pic.twitter.com/nPzKYYvTcV
The tennis player also posted a cryptic message on her social media which read, “Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Choose your hard. Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard. Choose your hard. Being in debt is hard. Being financially disciplined is hard. Choose your hard. Communication is hard. Not communicating is hard. Choose your hard. Life will never be easy. It will always be hard. But we can choose our hard. Pick wisely.”
Reports stated that there had been much conjecture over how long Shoaib Malik has been dating Sana Javed since the Pakistani cricketer wished the actress a happy birthday last year. He wrote, “Happy Birthday Buddy,” while sharing a photo of them together on his Instagram account.
Notably, he married famous Indian tennis player Sania Mirza in a customary Muslim ceremony in Hyderabad, India in 2010. It was succeeded in Pakistan’s Sialkot by a Walima (reception) function. The couple had moved to Dubai after they tied the knot.
Both Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza have kept quiet about their married lives, despite years of reports about their breakup. However, the rumours of their breakup had subsided as the two celebrated their son’s birthday in Dubai last year. They reportedly co-parent the kid who lives with his mother.
Shoaib Malik’s first wife was Ayesha Siddiqui, whom he had divorced in 2010 ahead of marrying Mirza, who became his second wife. Now, Sana has become his third wife. While he can have four wives at the same time as per Islamic Sharia rules, he married each time following divorce with the existing wife.
Sana Javed had appeared in Pakistani cinema and acted in a number of well-known drama serials. She married singer Umair Jaiswal in 2020 in a low-key ceremony during the height of the coronavirus outbreak. However, news about their divorce broke out two months prior.
Sania Mirza declared her retirement last year after a 20-year-long successful career during which she won forty-three Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) doubles titles and one singles trophy.
