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What is the ideal solution in dealing with a wife who avoids her husband and communicates with a non-mahram man, then attempted suicide, along with a clarification of the rulings on custody and 'iddah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A wife is not permitted to refuse her husband's bed unless there is a legitimate شرعي excuse; otherwise, she is considered rebellious (nashiz). Furthermore, her communication with non-mahram (أجانب) men is an abomination (munkar), and her husband must prevent her from doing so and explain the gravity of her suicide attempt and the necessity of her repentance. If the wife becomes upright, it is better to keep her; otherwise, he may divorce her with a legitimate (شرعي) divorce. The custody of the daughter belongs to the mother unless she marries or there is a legitimate (شرعي) impediment. The waiting period ('iddah) for a divorced woman whose menstruation isقطع due to breastfeeding is to wait for menstruation to resume, then observe 'iddah for three menstrual cycles. If the cessation is due to an unknown reason and she has not reached menopause, her 'iddah is a full year.

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

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