What is the ruling on a man whose wife does not pray?
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Question : The questioner says: She is a wife who has abandoned the prayer, and I have done everything I can with her to encourage her and warn her. I have seven children from her, and I fear that if I divorce her, it will affect their upbringing.
Answer : If your wife does not pray, and you have made every effort to get her to pray, then your wife is a disbeliever in Allah the Great, and she is forbidden to you. It is not permissible for you to keep her, because if one of the spouses apostatizes, may Allah protect us from that, the marriage is annulled. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Mumtahanah 60:10] And the one who abandons the prayer, whether male or female, is a disbeliever in Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, and an apostate from Islam. It is obligatory to call him to repent, and if he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is killed as a disbeliever and apostate. So, as long as you are unable to make your wife establish the prayer, I inform you that your wife is forbidden to you, whether you divorce her or not, and the marriage is automatically annulled.
As for your children, by separating from her in this state, Allah will make a way out for you and a solution. He will make the way out either by guiding her, may the Exalted be pleased with her, to Islam, so that she becomes a Muslim and prays, and then she returns to you; or by Allah making it easy for you to find a righteous wife who pleases you and who will take care of your children with the best possible care. This woman, whose condition you have described, has no right to the custody of her children, even if they are young, under seven years old. She does not have the authority to take them, because one of the conditions for a custodian is that she must be a Muslim, and this woman is not a Muslim. So I say: Fear Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and separate from her. Rely on Allah, have good opinion of Him, and know that Allah will make a way out for you and a solution, no matter how much you fear Him. And read the saying of Allah, the Exalted:[At-Talaq 65:2-3] Well, what will keep you from going? Yes.
Answer : If your wife does not pray, and you have made every effort to get her to pray, then your wife is a disbeliever in Allah the Great, and she is forbidden to you. It is not permissible for you to keep her, because if one of the spouses apostatizes, may Allah protect us from that, the marriage is annulled. Allah the Exalted said:
then do not return them to the disbelievers; they are not lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them
فَلَا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ لَا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّAs for your children, by separating from her in this state, Allah will make a way out for you and a solution. He will make the way out either by guiding her, may the Exalted be pleased with her, to Islam, so that she becomes a Muslim and prays, and then she returns to you; or by Allah making it easy for you to find a righteous wife who pleases you and who will take care of your children with the best possible care. This woman, whose condition you have described, has no right to the custody of her children, even if they are young, under seven years old. She does not have the authority to take them, because one of the conditions for a custodian is that she must be a Muslim, and this woman is not a Muslim. So I say: Fear Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and separate from her. Rely on Allah, have good opinion of Him, and know that Allah will make a way out for you and a solution, no matter how much you fear Him. And read the saying of Allah, the Exalted:
And whoever fears Allah - He will make for him a way out (3) And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.
وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[35 من 65] ما حكم من له زوجة لا تصلي؟!! الشيخ ابن عثيمين - مشروع كبار العلماء — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.