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Is it permissible for a woman to stay with her family after requesting a divorce from her ill-tempered husband who is not observant of prayers, knowing that she had previously separated from him and is awaiting his pronouncement of divorce, and considering Khul' (divorce at the wife's instance) as a last resort?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is obligatory for the wife to reside in her husband's house unless there is harm to her in doing so. If she leaves without his permission for no necessity, she is considered disobedient (nashiz). Even if the husband divorces her with a revocable divorce, it is obligatory for her to stay in his house until her waiting period (iddah) ends, based on the Almighty's saying: "Do not expel them from their houses, nor should they themselves leave, unless they commit a clear immorality." However, if the divorce is irrevocable, some scholars have permitted the irrevocably divorced woman to observe her waiting period outside the marital home.

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

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