A woman whose husband is bad in his treatment and harsh in his character, and does not fulfill any of her requests: does she sin when she refuses him?

The questioner : O Shaykh, this is a woman who mentions that she is married and that she has, I mean, many children from him. She says that her husband married before her and after her, and that her age is over forty. She says her husband is bad in his treatment, his character is harsh, and he treats me with the worst treatment. He falls short in my rights and does not fulfill any request of mine, even if it is trivial. And when he comes to my bed, he says to me, "I am having intercourse with you not out of love for you, but out of fear of Allah." She says that she has come to hate him and her soul is disgusted by him. And when he comes wanting her, she pushes him away. She does not even want to share food and drink with him. Is there any sin on me for that, and is there any sin on him for what he does? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that it is obligatory for the two spouses to treat each other with kindness, as Allah the Exalted said: What you have described about your husband is not treatment with kindness. She has the right to withhold her right from him, just as he withheld his right from her. However, I advise her to be patient, to seek reward from Allah, and to wait for relief from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Everything has an end. This is what I see for her. As for if she wants to retaliate against him and take her right from him, as I said, whoever neglects the rights of his wife, she may neglect his rights to the extent that he neglected hers, because Allah said: Yes.

The questioner : Peace be upon you

The Shaykh : You are from the people of the town. Save it. Save it.