The Ruling on a Wife’s Zihar from Her Husband

The following message was received by the program from Iraq, sent by one of the sisters from there. She says: There is a man who had some quarreling with his wife, and she uttered a strange phrase, saying: “You are like my father Ali.” After a while, she came to him seeking his pardon for what happened. What does the Shaykh (may Allah preserve him) advise her? And what is the husband’s position in this case?
Answer: First: She must seek forgiveness from Allah; because it is not permissible for her to forbid her husband, whether as her father, her mother, or otherwise. So she must seek forgiveness from Allah ; because it is not permissible for a Muslim to forbid what Allah has made lawful for him. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, addressed His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), saying: [Surah al-Tahrim: 1].
So she must repent and seek forgiveness, and she must pay the expiation for an oath; because she has not committed zihar, for zihar is from the husband to the wife. As for the wife, if she forbids her husband, she must pay the expiation for an oath, like any other thing from the worldly goods that she forbids; such as if she forbade the food of so-and-so, or entering the house of so-and-so, or speaking to so-and-so, or the like. So she must pay the expiation for an oath, which is: feeding ten poor people, giving each poor person half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the staple food of the land, such as dates, rice, or other such food, and its amount is approximately one and a half kilograms. Or clothing them; clothing the ten with what is sufficient for them in prayer. Or freeing a slave, as Allah specified in His Noble Book in Surah al-Ma'idah. And whoever is unable to do these three things due to poverty must fast three days, and that is sufficient for him. And praise be to Allah. Yes.