Is a wife who has been abandoned by her husband for four years entitled to marry another, and what should she do about her husband's refusal to divorce and return, and his withholding of financial support for her and their children?

As long as the wife has not been divorced by her husband, nor has a Muslim judge ruled for her divorce or khul‘ (dissolution of marriage at the wife's instance), she remains under his marital bond. His absence does not annul the marriage. It is impermissible for her to marry another man, and if she does, her marriage contract is void and the cohabitation is considered zinā (illicit sexual relations). If she is harmed by his absence or his failure to provide for her, she has the right to seek a divorce and present her case to the Sharia court for a ruling.