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Is the wife entitled to seek divorce, the deferred mahr, and the list of movables because she rejected her husband marrying another woman, and because he refused to have children with her despite them having no children? And what is the Shar'i ruling? And is she sinful?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Contemporary jurists differ concerning the ruling on artificial insemination. The husband is not obliged to agree to it or bear its costs, nor does he sin by preventing his wife from undergoing it. The husband may marry a second, third, or fourth wife, and the wife does not have the right to seek khulʿ (divorce at the wife's instance) or divorce merely because he has married another, unless she stipulated in the marriage contract that he should not marry another woman. A woman is not permitted to seek divorce except for a severe excuse, such as the husband's bad character or his inclination towards another wife. If the wife did not stipulate to her husband that he should not marry another, then she does not have the right to seek divorce. If she insists and no longer wishes to live with him, he may refuse the divorce and compel her to seek khulʿ in exchange for compensation, such as her waiving her mahr (dowry) or a portion of it. If the husband agrees to the divorce, the wife is entitled to all her rights, including the deferred mahr and the list of contents (qa’imah), even if she was the one who requested the divorce.

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

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