Selling one’s wife

Question

Question: What is the ruling of Allah and the Messenger concerning one who sells his wife? And if (the buyer) then takes the money back from the seller, what now is the ruling of Allah and the Messenger for him? And what is the ruling of Allah and the Messenger for the people of the neighbourhood who, by applying pressure, get the money returned to him?

Answer

Selling one’s wife is haram; the seller and the buyer are both sinners. Returning the money is fard. Buying her does not make intercourse (jimaʿ) with her lawful; rather, it will be fornication (zina). Therefore the wife should be returned to the one whose wife she is, and the money returned to the one whose money it is.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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