A woman who was married to a man and bore him a son, then he divorced her and the son remained with his father, then she married another man and he divorced her, so the first husband wanted to

The questioner : She says that she has been married for nine years. She was previously married to a man and bore him a child. A divorce occurred between them due to his poor religious conduct; he is addicted to drinking alcohol, neglects prayer, and is dismissive of the Qur'an and his family. After her divorce, she married another man, and her child remained with his father. She could not bear to be separated from her child, so her second marriage did not last long; rather, the other man divorced her out of consideration for her circumstances. As soon as her first husband heard about this, he began visiting their home with his child and expressing his desire to take her back. Her family opposed her return because of what they knew of his poor conduct. However, her father made it a condition that he quit drinking alcohol and straighten out all matters of his religion, and he promised to do so. She also agreed, hoping to remain near her child. Indeed, she returned to him, but his nature did not change; rather, it worsened. He began gathering his companions around him and inviting them to his home to engage in all kinds of evil and open sinfulness, including drinking, dancing, and other things, even in the presence of their women. He constantly tasked her with preparing food and drink for them, until her home became like a guesthouse, despite his low income. This caused debts to accumulate from the guests and led her to neglect herself and her children, occupying herself with serving these bad companions. He frequently pronounces the word divorce on her if she refuses to do something, and he may break his oath without caring. This is a small part of the many things he does and practices with his companions. What is your advice to me regarding what I should do with this man?

The Shaykh : First, we begin with advice for this man.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : We warn him of these great sins, and indeed of disbelief, because by abandoning prayer he has become an apostate and a disbeliever. His wife is not lawful to him until he repents to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and performs the prayer. We want to make it clear to him that the punishment, may Allah protect us from it, has been hastened by the accumulation of these debts upon him and the tightening of his affairs. We make it clear to him that if he had feared Allah (Mighty and Majestic), He would have made for him a relief and an exit. Allah the Exalted said: So he must repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and the door of repentance is open. Every sin, Allah the Exalted forgives it through repentance, as He said: As for this wife, her father erred in marrying her to him merely because he promised that he would repent. It is not his right to marry her to him until he knows of his repentance through his straightness. Therefore, he promised them and then betrayed them, not fulfilling the promise. How many promises have their owners delayed and broken when they do not have fear of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)! The solution to this problem that has occurred is to separate him from this wife, because she is not lawful to him as long as he is abandoning prayer. As for his children, he has no custody over them, because one of the conditions of custody is that the custodian be trustworthy with those in his custody. Since this is his state, he is not trustworthy with them, so it is not permissible for his children to remain with him. Rather, it is obligatory that they be with their mother, who will care for them, protect them, and provide for their needs. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
This question is from the listener M A M, a Sudanese resident in Jeddah.