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What is the ruling regarding a wife's treatment of her husband if she does not reciprocate his feelings? And is it permissible for a husband to accuse his wife of adultery based on mere suspicion, and threaten her with divorce and marrying another, while he himself wishes to commit adultery?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible to shame a wife for a sin from which she has repented. If the wife is obedient and maintains a good marital relationship, it is not appropriate to divorce her or abuse her for her shortcomings in expressing love and affection. Rather, one should communicate with her gently. Adultery is one of the most heinous sins, and a lack of affection should not be a cause for it. If the wife does not help you remain chaste, it is permissible to marry another woman and deal justly between them, or divorce her if you are unable to practice polygyny. It is advisable to keep the wife and treat her kindly, as a husband's safeguarding of his gaze from forbidden things increases his contentment with his wife, while letting the gaze roam freely among forbidden things makes him lose interest in her. Achieving affection requires patience, overlooking mistakes, and focusing on the good aspects. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "A believing man should not hate a believing woman. If he dislikes one of her characteristics, he will be pleased with another."

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

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