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The question

What is the ruling on the husband's actions of moving out the house furniture and contents, and seizing his wife's gold and jewelry, justifying this by claiming that the law does not criminalize theft between spouses?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

If the husband bought the household furniture and paid the full mahr (dowry), then the furniture belongs to him, unless he gifted it to his wife. However, if the husband furnished the house in lieu of the mahr, or if he gifted the furniture to his wife, then the furniture belongs to her. If both spouses contributed to furnishing the house, then whatever each of them bought with their own money belongs to them, unless ownership was transferred through a gift or similar means.

Therefore, if the husband takes his wife's belongings that she owns, either originally or what she acquired through the mahr or a gift, then this is an injustice and consumption of people's wealth unlawfully, especially if he uses man-made laws as a pretext. The husband is obligated to return everything he took from his wife's property and to give her all her rights in full if he intends to divorce her.

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

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