She says, “I am a recently married woman, and my problem is my husband. He is far from Islam in his behavior and actions. He does not pray, nor does he fast, and he even prevents me”
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The questioner : She says, “I am a recently married woman, and my problem is my husband. He is far from Islam in his behavior and actions. He does not pray, nor does he fast, and he even prevents me from fasting, even in Ramadan, and prevents me from doing any good. I work as a teacher to help him with the costs of living, but he insists that I quit my job, despite our urgent need for the salary I earn. The reason for his insistence is the doubt that troubles him; he suspects my conduct, even though I am committed to the religion to the utmost extent. I do not go out except wearing the hijab, even though few women in our area are committed to the hijab. Yet despite that, he does not trust me. He has also quit his job to stay by my side at home, watching me in every movement I make. He supports his orphan brothers, yet he quit his job and stayed at home. What is the solution you see that will please Allah regarding me? The most hated of lawful things to Allah is divorce, but what can I do to change the behavior of this man who does not know Allah or His religion? Guide us, may Allah reward you?”
The Shaykh : As for you, it is not permissible for you to remain with this husband, because by abandoning prayer he has become a disbeliever, and a disbeliever is not lawful for a Muslim woman to remain with. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Mumtahanah 60:10] Therefore, the marriage between you and him is dissolved; there is no marriage between you two unless Allah the Mighty and Majestic guides him, and he repents and returns to Islam. In that case, the marriage remains. As for the husband, his behavior is actually wrong, and I think there is a kind of illness in him, which is the illness of doubt and obsessive thoughts that may afflict some people in their acts of worship and their dealings with others. There is nothing better for this illness than the continuous remembrance of Allah the Exalted, reading the Qur'an, seeking refuge in Allah the Exalted, and relying upon Him and depending on Him to eliminate this obsessive thought that has befallen your husband.
And the important thing is that as for you, it is obligatory for you to separate from this husband and not remain with him, because he is a disbeliever and you are a believer. As for the husband, we advise him to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, and to strive to recite the beneficial dhikr that drives these obsessive thoughts from his heart. We ask Allah for him guidance and success.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
This is a message from the listener Uthman Ali al-'Uwayrin from the Commercial Secondary School in Riyadh.
The Shaykh : As for you, it is not permissible for you to remain with this husband, because by abandoning prayer he has become a disbeliever, and a disbeliever is not lawful for a Muslim woman to remain with. Allah the Exalted said:
And if you know them to be believers, then do not return them to the disbelievers; they are not lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them
فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ فَلا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ لا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَهُمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّAnd the important thing is that as for you, it is obligatory for you to separate from this husband and not remain with him, because he is a disbeliever and you are a believer. As for the husband, we advise him to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, and to strive to recite the beneficial dhikr that drives these obsessive thoughts from his heart. We ask Allah for him guidance and success.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
This is a message from the listener Uthman Ali al-'Uwayrin from the Commercial Secondary School in Riyadh.