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What is the ruling on the fiancée's prohibited relationship with another man, and what is the ruling on her family and the sheikh lying to them, and must the husband pay the deferred dowry and the gold in this case?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

What you did by spying on your wife is fundamentally unlawful, except when there is suspicion of the wife's deviance. The court may rule in favor of the wife for financial support based on her desire to complete the marriage and your alleged procrastination. What your wife is doing by being abusive and seeking divorce without cause is forbidden, and her relationship with a foreign man is a sin. If the father and the Sheikh know of her remorse and repentance, then concealing her (sins) is permissible, rather, it is required, and lying for the purpose of reconciliation is permissible. However, if they know of her persistence in sin and still conceal her, then their action is not permissible. A woman who is divorced before consummation is entitled to half of the stipulated mahr, unless the husband had a khalwah (private seclusion) with her in which intercourse was possible, in which case the mahr is due in full. If the wife repents and intends to complete the marriage, and you divorce her, you must give her all her full rights. However, if she does not repent, or if she repents but insists on divorce without justification, then you may prevent her from divorce until she pays you a ransom. You may demand the return of gifted gold if custom dictates its return upon divorce.

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

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