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Is the husband sinful if his Christian wife drinks alcohol at home without his prior knowledge, given his prior knowledge of her intention and that she drinks only on holidays, and despite his attempts to advise her?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

According to the majority of scholars, disbelievers are bound by the secondary rulings of Islamic law. Therefore, a Muslim is not permitted to help his wife drink alcohol. However, if she drinks alcohol of her own accord, there is no sin upon him, as he is unable to prevent her. Marrying a Kitābīyah (woman of the People of the Book) is disliked (makrooh), but not forbidden (haram), and the husband does not have the right to prevent her from eating pork, drinking alcohol, or going to church. Thus, there is no sin upon the Muslim if his wife drinks alcohol, but dissuading her from it is better for him.

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

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