Annulment of Marriage

Question :

I am from a non-Muslim country and I have a sister whose husband abandoned her a long time ago, but he did not divorce her due to fear of the proceedings which include paying financial compensation to the Government.

Also, we do not wish to raise the matter to the court, because it is not Islamic and it does not protect a woman's dignity. So if it is not possible to divorce, is it permissible for us to annul the woman's marriage and give her in marriage to another man?

Answer:

First of all, it is forbidden for a man to leave a woman hanging neither married, nor divorced, so it is incumbent upon him to divorce, if the wife's family are determined that the matter should not be submitted to the Court and there is no harm for him in that. Even if they submitted the matter to the Court and they obliged him to pay something, his marriage contract with this woman means that it is a duty on him to observe all of the obligations incumbent upon a husband, even if he is subject to injustice thereby. If he fulfills his obligations and fears Allah regarding this woman and divorces her of his own free will, then that is all that is required. of him. But if he does not, she has the right to seek a divorce due to his abandonment, because she has been wronged.

Source:
Ibn 'Uthaimin
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 6 Pages 64-65