What is the ruling on a wife who abandons her husband after 17 years of emotional abuse, ingratitude, and cutting off her maintenance, given that she is employed, and the reason for this is her devotion to her parents and maintaining kinship ties?

Each spouse has rights over the other. If one spouse falls short in fulfilling the rights of the other, it does not mean that the other party is permitted to also fall short. Among the husband's rights is obedience to his commands, as long as they do not involve disobedience (to Allah). There is a warning from the angels to the wife who refuses her husband's bed until she awakens (in the morning). The husband is obligated to spend on his wife and children. The wife has the right to bring a matter of maintenance before the judiciary, but she does not have the right to refuse her husband's bed for this reason. Desertion in beds (for marital relations) is a right reserved solely for the husband to address a wife's disobedience (nushuz). If the husband is disobedient (nashaza), the wife may request arbitration and resort to the judiciary. The husband must fear Allah and treat his wife kindly, in compliance with Allah's saying: "And live with them in kindness" (Quran 4:19) and "And due to them [wives] is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable" (Quran 2:228). The husband does not have the right to prevent his wife from honoring her parents with money. We advise the wife to be patient with her husband for the sake of the children, and she will have reward and recompense for that.