Should the wife seek a divorce if the husband insists on purchasing a house with usury, relying on fatwas that permit this for those residing in non-Muslim countries, and is it permissible for her to choose an exorbitantly priced house to deter him from engaging in usurious transactions?

It is impermissible to purchase a house or anything else through usury (riba), whether in Islamic or non-Islamic countries. This is the view of the majority of scholars due to the generality of the evidence that prohibits usury. The Hanafis, however, differed, allowing the taking of usury from belligerents (harbiyyin) in a land of war (dar al-harb) because the property of a belligerent is permissible (mubah). However, they did not permit a Muslim to pay usury to a disbeliever. This clarifies the error of those who issue fatwas (religious edicts) permitting Muslims to pay usury in lands of disbelief, relying on the Hanafi school of thought. All usury is forbidden, whether between Muslims or between a Muslim and a disbeliever. Both the one who consumes usury and the one who pays it are threatened with punishment. If the husband insists on dealing with usury, the sin falls upon him, and it does not harm the wife if she disapproves. She should continue to advise and warn him. There is no harm in using the stratagem of feigning interest in buying an expensive house to divert him from usury.