Is it valid for a wife to be automatically divorced if her husband is absent for more than four months, knowing that the husband wishes to maintain the marriage for the sake of his daughters?

A woman remains a wife unless her husband divorces her, or she resorts to the judiciary to request a divorce. Sheikh Ibn Baz clarified that divorce occurs if it is pronounced by a sane, consenting husband, and the woman is pure (not menstruating) and has not been intimate with him, or is pregnant, or is post-menopausal. It is forbidden for a husband to abandon his first wife and not deal justly with her, as he exposes himself to a severe warning on the Day of Judgment. If the first wife is harmed, she has the right to present her case to the judiciary to compel him to divorce or annul the marriage. Abandoning sexual intercourse with the wife is considered a harm to her, akin to the ruling for one who vows abstinence from his wife (mu'li). If the husband does not reconcile or divorce, the ruler will pronounce the divorce or annulment.