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What is the ruling of Islamic law regarding a husband's refusal to divorce his wife in order to guarantee his rights to his son, and what is the ruling on the actions of a wife who deprives the father of his son and communicates with non-mahram men after being forbidden from doing so?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Residing in non-Muslim countries poses a danger to a Muslim's faith and morals, and is not permissible except under certain conditions. What the wife is doing—contacting and inviting foreign men, and going out with them—is a clear abomination and deviation. She must fear Allah and return to her husband. The husband should advise her and warn her of Allah. If she does not respond, it is preferable to divorce her. In that case, she has no right to custody of the child, given her residence in a country that is not his [the child's own country], just as it is not in the child's best interest to be raised in non-Muslim lands with a mother who does not fear Allah. If the husband cannot secure the child except by refraining from divorcing her until she waives custody, there is no sin upon him for doing so.

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

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