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What is the ruling on a wife who leaves her home without her husband's knowledge and constantly demands divorce?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a wife disobeys her husband and seeks divorce without a legitimate Sharia reason, she is considered rebellious (nashiz). The husband should begin by admonishing her, reminding her of Allah, and of the importance of obeying her husband, and he should also reflect on his own shortcomings. If she persists in her disobedience, he should then forsake her in bed. Following this, he may lightly strike her in a non-injurious manner. If these measures prove unsuccessful, he may respond to her request for divorce in exchange for the return of the dower (Mahr) or a portion of it, based on Allah’s Almighty saying: "And it is not lawful for you to take back anything of what you have given them, except if both fear that they will not be able to keep within the limits of Allah. But if you fear that they will not be able to keep within the limits of Allah, then there is no blame upon either of them concerning that by which she ransoms herself."

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

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