The parties were married on 7 July 2002 in accordance with Islamic shari'a. Having never complied with marriage administrative requirements, the parties did not hold a marriage certificate. The parties also had two children. They had been married happily for 12 years but, by the end of 2014, the parties' marriage had become disharmonious after the respondent carried on an extra-marital affair with another man. In March 2015, the parties separated. The applicant requested that the court ratify the parties' marriage and grant him a revocable divorce (talak satu raj'i). After the applicant failed to attend the proceeding, however, the court dismissed the application.