If A Woman is Recalcitrant and Disobeys Her Husband

Question :

If a wife uses cologne and other types of spirit-based perfumes and goes out wearing it and she encourages her married daughters to use it and to go out with it, in spite of the husband's prohibition of it and his swearing to it and his warnings, threats, his staying apart (from her) and his beating her sometimes, and if she goes out from his house without his permission and encourages her married daugh- ters and her unmarried daughters to go out without permission from either husband or father for recreation or for buying unnecessary things, and if she refuses to go to her husband's bed and refuses to serve him, except occasionally, depending instead upon the service of her daughters to him, is one whose behavior is like hers considered to be guilty of Nushuz?

Answer:

If the situation of the wife is as you describe, in spite of the warnings, advice, estrangement and beating, then she is considered guilty of Nushuz, due to her disobedience and her recalcitrance against her husband, and her refusal to carry out his wishes and to fulfill his rights. Based upon this, an arbitrator should be sent from his family and from her family to confirm this and to find out the causes of it, and to strive for reconciliation between them. If that is done and agreement is reached, and each of them fulfills the rights upon the other, then all praise and thanks be to Allah. If her bad behavior is confirmed and she insists upon her disobedience and her refusal to fulfill his rights, a judge should separate them, and she must return whatever dowry she took, and there is no support for her. If it is confirmed by the two arbitrators that he has lied and that he displays enmity towards her, they should advise him and order him to behave well towards her, and to fulfill the obligations of a husband towards a wife.

Source:
The Permanent Committee
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 5 Pages 387-388