Problems Caused By Wife's Illness: Did Not Know Anything About Her Sickness Until Two Months Ago
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
My brother
married a woman who suffers from retinal atrophy, and
he did not know anything about her sickness until two
months ago. All he knew was that her vision was weak,
and he got married to her. Now he is wondering whether
he should separate from her because he feels that she
will not be able to raise his children properly if she
has children.
He is always arguing with her mother because she
speaks badly to him and he thinks that she bewitched
him to make him marry her daughter. Now he cannot
control his anger most of the time and he beats his
wife, and he insults her in horrible terms. I hope you
can suggest what is best for them.
Praise be to Allaah.
What you have
mentioned about her suffering from retinal atrophy is
not one of the faults which the fuqaha' have stated
give the husband the choice of annulling the marriage.
But some scholars, such as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah, and Ibn al-Qayyim – and Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
who regarded it as being the correct view – narrated
that every fault which puts the other spouse off, so
that the purposes of marriage, namely compassion and
love, cannot be achieved, mean that the spouse has the
choice of annulling the marriage. (Zaad al-Ma'aad,
5/163)
Based on this, the choice of annulment is given in
every case where there is a fault that affects the
purposes of marriage, namely love, intimacy, bearing
children, etc.
But your brother came to know of this fault after
that, and he did things which indicate that he
accepted that, namely continuing to be intimate with
her and not hastening to annul the marriage. According
to the fuqaha' this indicates that he accepts it, and
that he does not have the right to annul the marriage.
But as you know, divorce is the man's right and he may
divorce his wife if he thinks that he cannot live a
good life with her and that he cannot feel love for
her and feel at ease with her, which is the basis of
marriage.
What we advise in such situations is to be patient
with this wife and try to solve the problem. If her
mother is the main reason for the problems, then it is
better to keep a distance from her and to live in
separate accommodation. If your brother lives in the
same house as her or nearby, then it is sufficient to
keep in touch by phone and pay brief visits, etc. If
the wife's bad attitude is the reason for the problem,
then your brother should check himself and how he
treats his wife, for the way he treats her, beating
her and calling her names, may be the reason for her
bad attitude. He should seek the help of people who
have experience in dealing with such problems, and try
different ways of finding a solution to each problem.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a
thing and Allaah brings through it a great deal of
good"
[al-Nisa' 4:19]
If it is too much for him and he finds that there is
no way to solve the problem or to live peacefully with
his wife, then there is no sin in divorcing her; in
this case she is entitled to the mahr because the
marriage has been consummated. And Allaah knows best.
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments