The ruling on forcing a wife to wear the jilbab
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and companions, and those who follow them. As for what follows, this is one of the tapes from the *Al-Huda wa al-Nur* series of scholarly lessons and legal rulings, by our scholar and imam, the pride of the Levant, the hadith master of the age and the jurist of the time, the reviver of the Sunnah and its defender, the suppressor of innovation and its refuter, the pillar of the people of the Sunnah and their imam, the leader of the people of hadith and their shaykh, our teacher and father, Abu 'Abd al-Rahman Muhammad al-Nasir al-Din al-Albani. May Allah cover him with His mercy and admit him into the vastness of His Paradise by His grace and generosity. Muhammad ibn Ahmad Abu Layla al-Ashtari compiled and arranged these. May Allah be kind to him and forgive him. Brothers in faith, we are now with tape 61, which contains issues: the first is the ruling on Arab students of knowledge fleeing the war in Yugoslavia; the second is buying shares in companies, which is gambling and dealing with riba (usury or interest) banks; and other fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) issues. This session was recorded on the 6th of Shawwal, 1412 AH, corresponding to the 29th of April, 1992 CE. Hello, peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : Allah has guided us to our path.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah. I have a wife who obeys me in many things, but she is not committed to the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law). I mean, the hijab (the covering prescribed for women) here in Algeria is not like the jilbab (the outer garment) of the known, legitimate hijab. I mean, in the custom, the hijab is... and this is in many cities except the Levant, and all this is... the white khimar (the head covering) and the loose black hijab. Do you understand, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes. I mean, and the jilbab is not very common among us except in the capital and in some areas, but it is known that... if I ask her to wear it, she does not want to. She wants to wear the hijab but does not want to wear the jilbab. I mean, should I force her to do so? Or I do not understand, what are your customs? What are your traditions? And consequently, what is your hijab? I fear that the hijab has a specific concept for you, such as a shape and color, and so on. Listen, does anything of your wife's body appear when she leaves her house other than the face and the hands, for example? No, Shaykh, yes? No, nothing appears? Nothing appears. Then what do you want from her?
The questioner : That she wears the jilbab, meaning the loose one like what they wear in Saudi Arabia.
The Shaykh: Describe to me what their clothing is?
The questioner : Here in Algeria, a white khimar? White.
The Shaykh: Okay, then what?
The questioner: And a black abaya. Okay.
The Shaykh : And what is the harm in this?
The questioner : I am asking you, Shaykh. And I ask the other question. If I mean, what should I do in my behavior with her, because I, praise be to Allah, want to apply all the sunnah (recommended practice) and to commit to the Shari'ah of Allah, and she is not strong in faith, what method should I use with her?
The Shaykh : The method is mentioned in the Qur'an, namely His saying, the Exalted:[An-Nisa 4:34]. This is the method. Then, do you have a child from her? Yes, Shaykh. How many?
The questioner : One. One.
The Shaykh : Good, so you must follow this method and warn her of the consequences of her disobedience, meaning hint to her of divorce before the offspring and children multiply, and then it becomes difficult for you to divorce her. The matter may reach the point where it becomes obligatory for you to divorce her if she persists in opposing your religious commands. So memorize the verse and apply it.
The questioner: I will go.
The Shaykh: Clear.
The questioner: Clear, yes.
The Shaykh : Good, and anything else?
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : And may He bless you.
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : Allah has guided us to our path.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah. I have a wife who obeys me in many things, but she is not committed to the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law). I mean, the hijab (the covering prescribed for women) here in Algeria is not like the jilbab (the outer garment) of the known, legitimate hijab. I mean, in the custom, the hijab is... and this is in many cities except the Levant, and all this is... the white khimar (the head covering) and the loose black hijab. Do you understand, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Yes. I mean, and the jilbab is not very common among us except in the capital and in some areas, but it is known that... if I ask her to wear it, she does not want to. She wants to wear the hijab but does not want to wear the jilbab. I mean, should I force her to do so? Or I do not understand, what are your customs? What are your traditions? And consequently, what is your hijab? I fear that the hijab has a specific concept for you, such as a shape and color, and so on. Listen, does anything of your wife's body appear when she leaves her house other than the face and the hands, for example? No, Shaykh, yes? No, nothing appears? Nothing appears. Then what do you want from her?
The questioner : That she wears the jilbab, meaning the loose one like what they wear in Saudi Arabia.
The Shaykh: Describe to me what their clothing is?
The questioner : Here in Algeria, a white khimar? White.
The Shaykh: Okay, then what?
The questioner: And a black abaya. Okay.
The Shaykh : And what is the harm in this?
The questioner : I am asking you, Shaykh. And I ask the other question. If I mean, what should I do in my behavior with her, because I, praise be to Allah, want to apply all the sunnah (recommended practice) and to commit to the Shari'ah of Allah, and she is not strong in faith, what method should I use with her?
The Shaykh : The method is mentioned in the Qur'an, namely His saying, the Exalted:
But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them
وَاللَّاتِي تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَاهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّThe questioner : One. One.
The Shaykh : Good, so you must follow this method and warn her of the consequences of her disobedience, meaning hint to her of divorce before the offspring and children multiply, and then it becomes difficult for you to divorce her. The matter may reach the point where it becomes obligatory for you to divorce her if she persists in opposing your religious commands. So memorize the verse and apply it.
The questioner: I will go.
The Shaykh: Clear.
The questioner: Clear, yes.
The Shaykh : Good, and anything else?
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : And may He bless you.
The questioner : Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
Source
سلسلة الهدى والنور، المجلس 66 — d3watuna.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.