This article argues that the judicial authority to issue khul‘ decrees complies with the principles of the sharī‘ah, although it is issued without the husband’s consent. The judicial exercise of ijtihād in khul‘ is based on an interpretation of the relevant texts from the Qur’ān and ḥadīth and is similar to the position held by the Mālikī school. Detractors from this view often cite verse 237 of Surat al-Baqarah, which states, “the one in whose hand is the marriage contract,” to argue that a husband must approve of a khul‘ before it is executed. This article argues that this verse has multiple interpretations, one of which allows a judge to issue divorce on behalf of the husband. Hence, a court has the full authority to dissolve a marriage. The same opinion has been adopted in the Pakistani khul‘ law. This interpretation addresses a moral dilemma often faced by Pakistani women. Some Ḥanafī ‘ulamā’ have suggested that judicial khul‘ is invalid and that a woman remains married to her initial husband. When she enters a second marriage, this is considered an extramarital relationship. By adopting the Mālikī opinion and considering judicial khul‘ as faskh (annulment), the objection of the Ḥanafī ‘ulamā’ can be rebutted. This approach will free women from the dilemma of worldly guilt and fear of punishment on the Day of Judgement.