divorce couple could be reunited “within two days” after it was confirmed that the Al-Jouf court has been informed by the Supreme Judicial Council that its decision to divorce the couple four years ago had been overturned. Mansour Al-Taimani and Fatima Al-Azzaz had been divorced against their wishes when her half brother claimed in court that Al-Taimani was of an inferior social status and had deceived their late father. The Al-Jouf court had ruled in favor of her brothers despite the fact that social status is not a prerequisite for Islamic marriages. Al-Azzaz had claimed that her brothers were using her husband's social status as a pretext to get control of her property. The case attracted intense local and international attention. Informed sources said the Al-Jouf court had immediately started proceedings to enforce the judicial council's decision. It will also send a letter to the Al-Jouf Governorate, which in return will inform the governorate in the Eastern Region, to carry out the Riyadh court's decision, and to bring the couple together “within two days.” This also means that Al-Azzaz can now leave the Women's Protection House in Dammam where she has been staying with her son Sulaiman. In its judgment overruling the Al-Jouf decision, the Supreme Judicial Council stated last week that the marriage was legal because Al-Azzaz's father had given his permission for the union. The council had also taken into consideration that the couple have two young children, Nuha, 6, and Sulaiman, 4. The two were also leading a happy life “full of love and harmony” when they had been forcibly separated, the court ruled. Human rights advocates in Saudi Arabia had contested the ruling in Al-Azzaz's case arguing that it is not a correct interpretation of Shariah. The National Society of Human Rights had reportedly submitted two studies conducted by Islamic scholars stating that if a woman's legal guardian represented her at the wedding, then other relatives have no right to object to the marriage based on compatibility, rather this right could only be exercised by the married woman.
