Is a wife entitled to evict her husband from the marital home she owns and insist he not return for nine months, despite advice and the intervention of friends? Is her brother entitled to support her financially to counter the husband’s refusal to spend as a pressure tactic to bring him back, and to demand from the husband what he spent, and to move his sister and her children to another home without the husband’s knowledge and rent out the marital home? Is the wife entitled to stipulate the provision of another apartment for her return, knowing the husband is incapable of doing so after he spent on furnishing her apartment? What is the religious ruling on this matter, and is divorcing her considered an injustice to the children?

Dispute issues are to be presented before the Sharia (definition) courts. If what was spent on the house was with the intention of partnership, then the husband has the right to reclaim what he spent or to be a partner, and the wife has the right to demand rent for her share. If the wife does not agree to the partnership, then the husband only has the right to claim what he spent, and he has no right to the house. If the expenditure was a donation, then she has the right to prevent him from residing in it, and he must provide her with suitable housing. It is not permissible to cut off maintenance. Her brother has the right to demand what he spent if he intended to reclaim it. It is not permissible for her brother to relocate her with the intention of causing harm. Spouses should not reach the point of expulsion and dispute, and the wife's family should not assist her in the disagreement. Cooperation in righteousness and piety is obligatory. The wife is not permitted to prevent her husband from disciplining the children without harshness. We advise against divorce unless cohabitation becomes impossible.