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The question

What is the religious ruling on a husband who fails to fulfill his financial and emotional responsibilities towards his wife and children, mistreats his wife, and refuses marital relations for 6 years, and is the wife sinful if she abstains from this relationship due to the harm it causes her?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

What the husband does in terms of neglecting maintenance is haram and unjust, according to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: "It is enough sin for a man to neglect those whom he supports." It is not permissible for the wife to refuse her husband's bed or leave his house except for a legitimate excuse. However, if the husband becomes unable to provide maintenance or refuses to do so, then she is permitted to refuse his bed and leave his house due to the non-fulfillment of the husband's right to confine her. The wife may bring the matter before a judge to compel him to provide maintenance or to annul the marriage. Regarding the husband's illness, if it completely deprives him of the ability to have intercourse, then the matter may be brought before a judge to set a one-year period; if no intercourse occurs within it, the marriage is annulled. If the illness weakens his ability to have intercourse with infrequent intervals and the wife is harmed, she may request a divorce for harm; otherwise, not. Patience is advised to preserve the children.

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

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