What is the ruling of Islamic law on a marriage that took place secretly without the knowledge of the family, and consummation occurred, and it is desired to dissolve it through divorce, with the wife fearing the loss of her rights and the husband claiming no responsibility for what happened?
If the Shar'i (Islamic legal) marriage contract is concluded, the woman becomes a wife, and everything permissible for a husband from his wife becomes permissible for him, while observing the delay of consummation by agreement or by custom. The husband should not divorce his wife merely due to his family's desire without a valid Shar'i reason, and he is not obligated to obey them in that. The wife can try to persuade him to keep her as his wife and seek help from wise individuals. If a divorce occurs, she can inform trustworthy people about what happened to avert what she fears. In case of a dispute regarding consummation or rights, the Shar'i court is the decisive authority.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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