All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.
Khul‘ (Divorce, or annulment, at the request of the wife who pays compensation) has [certain] pillars (foundational parts ) that should be fulfilled for the Khul‘ to be valid and effective. We have highlighted these pillars in Fataawa 250042 and 235219. If you demanded Khul‘ and the husband approved - and these pillars were fulfilled, the Khul‘ is valid and becomes effective. In fact, the validity of Khul’ is not affected by the fact that the husband accepted it under moral pressure (on part of wife).
Khul‘ takes effect as an instance of irrevocable divorce according to the majority of Muslim scholars. If your husband had not divorced you twice before that incident of Khul‘, he is entitled to take you back in marriage, but with a new marriage contract and a new Mahr. This has been highlighted in Fatwa 88502.
However, if he had divorced you twice before the Khul‘, this is considered an irrevocable divorce with major separation and you are unlawful to him unless you marry another man willfully – and not merely to be able to remarry your ex-husband – and then your second husband happens to divorce you or die. Please, refer to Fatwa 82541 for the types of divorce.
We would like to point out that the husband can revoke the divorce and take his wife back in marriage during her ‘Iddah (post-divorce waiting period). In case of an irrevocable divorce [with minor separation], a new marriage contract with a new Mahr is needed as highlighted earlier. Ibn Qudaamah wrote about the implicit and explicit marriage proposal for the woman during her ‘Iddah, “Section three: an irrevocably divorced woman whose husband is entitled to take her back in marriage: such as the case in Khul’, annulment of marriage due to the husband’s long absence or being financially insolvent (unable to maintain her) or the like, the husband is entitled to make an explicit or implicit marriage proposal to the woman because she is still lawful to him in marriage during her ‘Iddah; she is just like a woman who is not in her ‘Iddah in this regard.”
It should be noted that it is impermissible for the wife to demand Khul‘ without a valid and Sharee‘ah-acceptable reason, given the severe warnings for such an act. Thawbaan narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Women who seek Khul‘ are (like) the female hypocrites.” [At-Tirmithi]
Even if there is a Sharee‘ah-acceptable reason for Khul‘, the wife should not hasten to seek Khul‘ before verifying its benefit, for fear that she may regret it later on. Verily, separation is not always the optimal solution.
Allaah Knows best.