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What should a wife do if her husband forces her to drink alcohol, wants to have her and his other wife in the same bed, and treats her badly, knowing that they have 3 children? And is she sinful if she agrees to relieve herself from his tyranny, or should she remain defiant?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Alcohol is the mother of all evils, and drinking it is one of the greatest sins. Even more serious than that is abandoning prayer (Salah). Abandoning prayer out of denial (juhood) unequivocally expels one from the faith. Abandoning it out of laziness has been considered by some scholars as disbelief (kufr) that expels one from the faith. If the husband abandons prayer out of denial, he is a disbeliever, and it is impermissible to remain with him. However, if he does not deny it but leaves it out of laziness, then it is not obligatory to separate from him. Nevertheless, it is not permissible to obey him in drinking alcohol or in engaging in intercourse in the presence of another wife. Therefore, advise your husband and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong. If he does not repent and remains in his state, do not hesitate to seek a divorce (talaq) or annulment (khula), because your continued presence with him will be a detriment to your faith and to your children. It has been said that separating from a husband who is negligent in fulfilling the rights of Allah is obligatory.

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

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