A wife who has made her husband’s life unbearable

Question

My wife does not listen to me at all. I have tried to make her understand in every way — with love, with affection, with beating. My mother, relatives, the people of the neighbourhood, and even her own mother and father have counselled her a great deal, but nothing gets through to her. She neither works nor cooks: if she feels like it she cooks, and if not she just lies there. She does none of the housework. My old mother alone does all the work. If some guest comes to me, she pays no attention whatsoever.

Answer

This wife is a great trial for you. If you can exercise patience and forbearance, then, Allah willing, it will become an expiation for many faults; but you cannot be compelled to do so. If you cannot bear this and are unable to fulfil the rights, and life becomes bitter, then you have the right to set her free.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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