Back to search

What is the ruling regarding a wife remaining with her husband who does not pray or fast after 27 years of marriage, and is she entitled to seek a divorce?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If a man abandons prayer and fasting out of denial, he is an unbeliever (kafir), and his wife must separate from him. However, if his abandonment of them is due to laziness, the majority of scholars hold that he does not exit the fold of Islam, and his wife may remain with him. Nevertheless, it is preferable for her to separate from him, as there is no good in staying with a man who neither prays nor fasts. The procedures for divorce (talaq) or khul' (divorce at the wife's instance) are to be referred to the Sharia court.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy