If the wife does not obey her husband, does not cover herself in front of non-mahrams, and goes out displaying her adornment, is it permissible for him to divorce her, or should he be patient with her?

The questioner : He says: I am married to a girl who is eighteen years old, and up to now she has not borne any children. My problem with her is that she does not observe hijab in front of anyone, whether a close relative or a distant one, whether a mahram or a non-mahram. She frequently displays her adornment, is dirty in her clothing and her body, and does not perform wudu during intercourse except in the morning. She also always likes to go out of the house, and her clothes are always torn. When a non-mahram comes to the house, she prefers to sit with him better than with me. If I ask her about it, she says, "You are jealous, meaning you are jealous of others." And when I speak to her family, they say that a husband who is not a match for his wife has no right to be jealous of her. I remained confused. She does not care about displaying some of her beauty, such as her chest and back. She runs around a lot, talks, laughs, and jokes with anyone. She always walks a long distance from her house and goes to some houses with her head uncovered. When I speak to her, she says, "People are laughing at me, not at you." Because of her nature, I hate her and do not fulfill some of her requests. If I had the ability, I would marry someone else and leave her. But women at this time have high mahr, so what do you advise me to do? Should I ask her family to return her mahr and divorce her, or should I use beating with her, or should I divorce her without returning any of her mahr and remain without a wife, or should I be patient and the situation is as you see it? Your opinion, O your eminence, give me the correct solution. May Allah guide you.

The Shaykh : This issue is a problem, as the brother mentioned, a problem. But we see that if the man cannot marry anyone else, he should keep his wife with him and strive, as much as he can, to discipline her and guide her through admonition, separation, and beating, especially if she is arrogant toward him and despises him. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: We see that the wise, successful person can handle such problems in the best way, with recourse to Allah the Exalted and Supreme and supplicating to Him to rectify his household. If a person uses these two means, the legal cause which is supplicating to Allah the Exalted, and the physical cause which Allah commanded, which is admonition, separation, and beating, but a beating that is not severe, then if a person uses wisdom in accordance with what the Shari'ah indicates, then Allah the Exalted will rectify his affairs.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Due to His saying, the Exalted: And He said, the Exalted: Yes.

The questioner : This message came from Ghalib Marsh Malihi from al-Khafji, and he is of Yemeni nationality.