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The question

What is the legal ruling regarding a wife who refuses to allow her husband's mother, who suffers from a heart condition, to stay in her home even for a single night, despite knowing her husband's desire to honor his mother? Is the wife sinful for this? And is the husband sinful if he divorces her due to her insistence on this refusal?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The wife has the right to a private dwelling. And from the good companionship is honoring the spouses' families and hosting guests. It is not permissible for the wife to prevent her husband from hosting his family unless she is subjected to a significant harm; otherwise, she would be sinful, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Any woman who asks her husband for divorce without any compelling reason, the scent of Paradise will be forbidden to her." The husband has the right to divorce his wife if she stands between him and honoring his mother. It is advised to follow the steps for resolving discord (nushuz): admonition, then abstention from intimacy, then striking, then arbitration between the spouses.

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

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