What advice would you give to a couple if the husband told his wife not to visit her sick mother until circumstances allow, and the wife went without his permission?

A wife must obey her husband and not leave his home without his permission, even if it is to visit her mother. Her departure without his permission is considered insubordination (nushooz). We advise the husband not to prevent his wife from visiting her mother, especially if she is ill, as this is part of the obligatory ties of kinship. A sound marital relationship is built on affection, mercy, and kind treatment, as Allah Almighty says: "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy" [Ar-Rum: 21], and His saying: "And live with them in kindness" [An-Nisa: 19]. And "The best of you is the best to his family." A home built on these foundations does not reach the point where the wife is prevented from visiting her mother or leaving without her husband's permission; rather, each strives to be good to the other.