What is the ruling on a wife refusing sexual intimacy under various pretexts and imposing conditions for it? Are her excuses and demands legitimate? Is a husband's abandonment of his wife in bed as a disciplinary measure for her disobedience permissible? And is a wife entitled to seek divorce if the husband threatens to marry another woman to protect himself [from sin]?

It is not permissible for a wife to refuse her husband's bed unless there is a legitimate excuse. If she refuses without a valid excuse, she is sinful and disobedient (nashiz). Acceptable excuses include an obligatory fast, menstruation, postnatal bleeding (nifas (definition)), or an illness that prevents intercourse. However, lack of desire or a request for the husband to lose weight are not acceptable excuses. If intercourse causes her apparent pain, she has the right to refuse until treatment is sought. The husband is obligated to consider his wife's circumstances and not exaggerate the frequency of intercourse to the point of harming her. If the wife's disobedience and refusal without an excuse are proven, the husband should advise her, then forsake her in bed. A man has the right to marry more than one wife if he is capable of being just.