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What is the ruling of the Shari'ah concerning a wife who abandons her husband's bed, demanding an independent home, while her husband lives with and supports his parents?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

An independent dwelling is a right of the wife over her husband. It is a separate, private place for her, which none of the husband's distinguishing relatives share with her. It has its own lock and private facilities. If the husband provides this suitable dwelling for her, she does not have the right to demand the purchase of a house, nor should she refuse to live with him. Her refusal is considered nushooz (disobedience/rebellion). Her abandoning the marital bed is also a sin and nushooz.

The wife must be advised to return, and if she does not, the steps for treating nushooz must be followed.

The wife has the right to refuse to directly serve non-mahram guests if she fears fitna (temptation/strife).

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

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