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Is it permissible to seek divorce from a husband who intends to marry another woman and is unable to care for his wife and children?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A woman does not have the right to divorce her husband; rather, divorce is in the hands of the man. A woman does not owe expiation if she divorces her husband, but she should seek Allah's forgiveness and repent to Him. A man is not required to seek his wife's permission to marry a second wife, but it is a part of good companionship to reassure her. The wife should be patient and content if her husband marries another. However, if she fears that she will fall short in fulfilling his rights, she has the right to ask him for a divorce, or for a khul' (divorce at the wife's instance) by returning the dowry. If the husband is unable to provide for his wife, she has the right to request the annulment of the marriage from the Sharia judge.

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

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