Should a man divorce his second wife – who is righteous and 50 years old – whom he married 35 years into his first marriage, in order to mend his relationship with his first wife and children who reject the second wife, or should he keep the situation as it is despite the hardship and his children's dislike of the second wife?

What the first wife did by abandoning her husband due to his marriage is forbidden and an injustice. It is considered 'nushuz' (rebellion/disobedience), which forfeits her right to maintenance and housing. The husband is not obliged to respond to her request to divorce the second wife. The husband must continue to be just between his wives, and in the event of the first wife's 'nushuz', he is not obligated to allocate nights for her nor provide maintenance for her. It is not permissible for the children to boycott their father; they must obey him in what is good, and they should visit their stepmother if he commands them to do so, and conceal the matter from their mother if it would anger her. The husband is not advised to divorce his second wife unless holding onto her leads to an escalation of problems and the breakdown of the family.