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Is a husband who emotionally neglects his wife sinful, and what should the wife do about it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A husband's neglect of his wife is haram (forbidden) if he abandons a mandatory right, whether material or non-material, such as: neglecting financial support, or fairness in spending nights with her if there are other wives, deserting her without excuse, failing to ensure her chastity despite being able, and being absent from her for more than six months without excuse. However, neglect might not be haram if the husband is fulfilling his wife's rights but is deficient in commendable matters like companionship. Some jurists have mandated that he spend one night with her out of every four nights, while others left the determination to the ruler's discretion. If the husband falls short in emotional needs, the wife should discuss it with him and explain that good companionship necessitates kindness in this aspect. If he does not respond, she should exercise patience and seek help from Allah.

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

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