What is the ruling regarding a wife remaining with her husband who does not pray or fast after 27 years of marriage, and is she entitled to seek a divorce?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If a man abandons prayer and fasting out of denial, he is an unbeliever (kafir), and his wife must separate from him. However, if his abandonment of them is due to laziness, the majority of scholars hold that he does not exit the fold of Islam, and his wife may remain with him. Nevertheless, it is preferable for her to separate from him, as there is no good in staying with a man who neither prays nor fasts. The procedures for divorce () or khul' (divorce at the wife's instance) are to be referred to the court.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 162698
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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