Is a husband's excessive precautionary behavior, such as not touching anything outside the house and washing everything that enters it, claiming to be warding off illness and citing the Hadith: "Flee from the leper as you would flee from a lion," considered a form of scrupulosity (waswasah) or taking lawful precautions (akhdh bil-asbab ash-shar'iyyah), and is the wife sinful for not obeying him in this regard?
Moderation and temperance are the solutions when dealing with the spread of epidemics, as Islam combines reliance on Allah with taking precautionary measures. The directives of Islam are summarized in taking legitimate means, seeking Allah’s help and relying on Him, and being content with His decree and destiny. Regarding the husband's condition, obsessive cleaning is a mental illness that necessitates visiting a specialized doctor, especially during times of widespread epidemics, due to its exhausting effect on the affected person and those who interact with him.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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