The Meaning of Justice in Lodging with Wives

Question:
Ali from Abha is on the line with us. Go ahead, my brother Ali. Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy. Peace and Allah’s mercy. I have a question for Shaykh Salih. Go ahead. Shaykh Salih, may Allah reward you with good. My father is ninety years old, and my aunt, his first wife, is about eighty-five years old. They have been married for a long time, Shaykh, may Allah prolong your life. My father married two other women after her, but he no longer comes to them, no longer sleeps with them, and no longer, well, he is advanced in age. She asked him for a divorce, and he refused. My father, Shaykh, on the grounds that he wants you to accept him back a second time and return to how it was when we were about twenty-five years old at the start. We want guidance for the father, Shaykh. She is eighty years old. She lived with him in hunger. She lived with him in hardship. She lived with him in the apartment for the entire duration. And the father refused to divorce her on the grounds that he says, “I want you to come back to me. A new start.” She is an old woman, you know, Shaykh. And he is an old man too. The question is clear.

Answer:
My brother, if she is under his responsibility, he is required to lodge with her one night out of four nights. One night out of four nights, he is required to lodge with her. He lodges with her, and it is not required that he have intercourse with her. The intended meaning is his presence with her and his lodging with her, and his companionship with her and her companionship with him. That is the intended meaning. Yes.