A man disliked his wife when she grew old and wanted to divorce her and remarry, but she said to him, "Do not divorce me; keep me with you, and I will eat and drink and you will protect me." So he agreed to that and married.

The questioner : He has a problem. He says his wife, the one he is with, bore him children, may Allah be pleased with them, and they are grown up. But in the last part of his life, he disliked her, so he wanted to divorce her and wanted to marry another woman over her. So she says to him, in the expression, "It is up to you."

The Shaykh : It is up to you.

The questioner : Divorce me and where will you send me? I accept staying with you, eating and drinking, and you protecting me, rather than going to my father or my mother.

The Shaykh : She is wiser than to be divorced. May Allah guide him.

The questioner : When I was first asked, I said this is a wise woman.

The Shaykh : May Allah guide her.

The questioner : So the man accepted this.

The Shaykh : How old is she?

The questioner : No.

The Shaykh : I do not know.

The questioner : I asked, and by Allah, they told me it is approximately fifty years old, and the man is approximately sixty years old.

The Shaykh : Ah, that is it...

The questioner : He went to a certain country and married and brought the two wives. Naturally, now, he is comfortable with the new woman, sitting with her. The woman, apparently.

The Shaykh : Jealousy stirred in her.

The questioner : So she says to him, "Just come and spend one night with me," and he says, "Either divorce or stay as you are; I cannot stand you." So she is confused, and he is now confused as well.

The Shaykh : Who is confused?

The questioner : The woman, I mean, what should she do?

The Shaykh : Is the question from the man or from the woman?

The questioner : Initially from the woman, that she wants it, but he is threatening her with divorce, and he is now saying, "I am the second one, I am confused, what should I do? If I divorce her, she will beg me, she will say to me, 'By Allah, where do you want to leave me? Where do you want to throw me? Let me, I accept.' So she is between two fires." He says he is confused, what should he do? Perhaps you should present this case to the Shaykh.

The Shaykh : By Allah, do you know, the treatment for a case like this is to settle and compromise, if he is able to settle and compromise. First, that he keeps her as a wife, out of mercy for her, that is first. Second, if he is willing to comply with what she wants from what Allah has made lawful, do it without creating a new problem with his new wife. That is the solution.

The questioner : Is it permissible for him to keep her with him and not give her her rights?

The Shaykh : Yes, that is what is stipulated for her. And on this occasion, we mention the story of Sawdah; do you not remember it?

The questioner : Yes, yes, by Allah, it slipped my mind, Glory be to Allah, yes, yes.

The Shaykh : Sawdah grew old and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to divorce her. She said, "O Messenger of Allah, do not divorce me, for I want to be gathered with your wives in Paradise, and my turn is for 'Aishah." So he used to divide his time among all the women except her; for her, it was only the financial maintenance and housing, and so on.

The questioner : Very good, yes.

The Shaykh : Naturally, he may enter her home and be kind to her, and so on, but he is not obligated to be just between her and her co-wives.

The questioner : May Allah expand your chest, O Shaykh. This is a solution beyond which there is no solution. May Allah honor you. The questioner: This, our Shaykh, this arrangement with the wives has conditions, I mean.

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : This arrangement is absolute.

The Shaykh : What kind of arrangement?

The questioner : Like, for example, in this case, she stays like this without rights, or so, or so. Does he have conditions?

The Shaykh : My son, there is a woman whose husband wants to divorce her for one reason or another, for one reason or another.