ABSTRACT
Up to the 1940's in Singapore it was rarely stated in the ta'alik that the wife must establish to the satisfaction of a kathi that her husband had contravened the condition of the ta'alik before the divorce could become operative. An examination of marriage registers reveals that some Singapore kathis register more ta'alik clauses than others, and that they decide upon the exact words the bridegroom utters when the ta'alik is registered. It is not only at the solemnization of his marriage that a Muslim husband in Singapore registers a ta'alik divorce. Soon after the Shariah Court had been constituted many Singapore Muslims were of the opinion that the entries in the Marriage Registers (i.e. the marriage certificates) should have a ta'alik clause printed as a reminder to kathis to ask the bridegroom whether he was willing to utter a ta'alik.
