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What is the ruling on a husband neglecting his wife and her legitimate rights, turning away from her and from fulfilling her demands, and preferring his son and his family over her, forcing her to live and cohabit with his son who sleeps with them in the same bed? Is the wife obliged, religiously or legally, to care for the husband's son and live with him? And must the father house him with the wife even if this action harms her?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The wife is not responsible for her husband's son from another woman, and she has the right to an independent dwelling. The husband is not entitled to force her to live with any of his family members, including his son from another woman, as living with them may cause her harm and damage.

The husband is not allowed to house his son with her without her consent, unless the son is not an adult and has no guardian other than his father, or if she married him while the son was with him, and there is no harm to her from the son remaining with them.

The husband must treat his wife kindly, and he is not allowed to abandon her bed without justification. Scholars have differed regarding the obligation and extent of spending the night with her. Some have made it obligatory for one night out of every four nights, while others have held that this is left to the judge's discretion in a manner that removes the wife's loneliness and brings about intimacy.

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

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