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Is a wife entitled to demand suitable housing (a house with a garden) commensurate with her husband's financial status and his family's status, especially since she currently lives in a small apartment while her husband prefers living in his first wife's spacious house?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Allah has made it obligatory upon a husband who has multiple wives to be just between them in terms of maintenance, lodging, and clothing. It is not permissible for the husband to spend the time allocated to one wife in the house of another, except out of necessity or need. Among the justice obligatory upon the husband is justice in housing. It is not permissible for him to house one wife in a luxurious dwelling and another in a small dwelling if he owns both dwellings. However, if he resides in the spacious house of one of his wives, he is not obligated to provide a similar one for the other. The affluent husband should provide suitable and spacious housing for his other wife, taking into account the situation of his children so that they do not feel a significant disparity between them. For "among a person's felicity are: a righteous neighbor, a comfortable mount, and a spacious dwelling." What is obligatory upon him is that the estimation of maintenance, clothing, and housing be appropriate to his financial situation.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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