What is the jurisprudential ruling concerning a husband's forcing his wife to swear by placing her hand on the Qur'an that the seven children are his and that she has not betrayed him, given his subsequent feeling of remorse, and is he obligated to do anything towards his wife, who refuses to forgive him and threatens to hold him accountable before God?

A husband's suspicion of his wife and his demand that she swear an oath of innocence against betrayal is not permissible. This is because the default assumption for a Muslim is chastity and integrity. His suspicions do not justify his actions, and this might be a punishment for his negligence in leaving her to spend the night alone with his brother, which is forbidden. This is because it constitutes unlawful seclusion (khalwa), which is prohibited in the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "No man is to be in seclusion with a woman unless a mahram is with her," and "No man is in seclusion with a woman but Shaytan is the third of them." The Prophet also warned against the husband's relatives, for "The hamu (husband's male relative) is death." Likening the hamu to death makes prohibition even more imperative than with a stranger. Furthermore, young children do not negate khalwa. It is not permissible for the wife to welcome his brother warmly, be casual in her interactions with him, or joke with him, as this is a pretext for corruption. Therefore, the husband must hasten to repent, protect his wife, and oblige her to observe the legal hijab. His brother should not see her unless she is in her legal attire. He must also oblige her not to be in seclusion with him or to be casual with him, because his brother is a stranger (non-mahram) to her. He must also ward off the whispers of doubt from himself, as they are from the Shaytan's ploys.