What should a husband do whose wife, afflicted with AIDS—yet chaste and blameless—fears she will infect him, knowing that he and their son are free of diseases; should he divorce her or continue the marital life?

It is an act of kindness to keep a sick wife under one's marital bond and not divorce her, while striving to treat her according to one's ability. It is not obligatory to have intercourse with her if the husband fears the transmission of the disease to himself, because Islamic law commands the prevention of harm. He can also marry another woman to achieve the benefit of being kind to her and the benefit of safeguarding his own chastity.