What is the religious ruling regarding a husband who prevents his wife from meeting her cousins and in-laws at religious occasions, then expels her from the home and refuses to take her back or divorce her because there are children between them?

If a husband wishes to prevent his wife from interacting with her male cousins or other non-mahram men, she must obey him. Similarly, if he wishes to prevent her from interacting with her female relatives who are not mahram, due to fear that they might corrupt her, she must obey him. It is also permissible for him to prevent her from interacting with her close relatives, such as her paternal uncle and brothers. However, preventing her from interacting with her female relatives merely out of stubbornness is impermissible, as it constitutes severing ties of kinship.

Expelling one's wife from her home and then neither taking her back nor divorcing her is unlawful. This is a form of harm that is religiously rejected and contrary to Allah's command: "retaining them with kindness or releasing them with good treatment." Therefore, he must either take her back and treat her kindly, or if he does not wish to take her back, he must divorce her, based on the Almighty's saying: ﴿And do not retain them to harm them so that you transgress.﴾