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What is the ruling on a wife remaining in her husband's house after divorce, despite her severe negligence of conjugal rights, and is it permissible for the husband to evict her from his house so that she may realize the gravity of the situation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A woman who has been given a revocable divorce (talaq raj'i) must observe her 'iddah (waiting period) in her husband's house, and it is forbidden for her to leave it or for him to expel her from it. This is based on the Almighty's saying: "Do not expel them from their houses, nor should they leave." This is because the right of the 'iddah is established by Allah Almighty, and the husband does not have the power to waive it. This ruling remains valid even if the spouses agree otherwise, due to the wisdom behind the 'iddah, which is stated in the Almighty's saying: "You do not know, perhaps Allah may bring about thereafter some new affair." As for a woman who has been divorced in exchange for compensation (khul'), her divorce is an irrevocable minor divorce (bainunah sughra). She may observe her 'iddah wherever she wishes in a safe place, and she is not obliged to observe it in her former husband's house.

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

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