The husband is sinful and dissolute: what should the wife do?

Question

Question: A girl was married at the age of ten (this marriage was arranged by her father), and seven years have passed since then. The girl has still not been sent to her husband’s home. The husband is a thief, a scoundrel and a drunkard. The girl says: “I will never go to this thief’s house; if I am sent by force, my life and honour will be in grave danger; let me be married elsewhere.” In this situation, can a nikah take place elsewhere or not?

Answer

This should have been considered before the nikah: whether the man she is being married to is a thief, a scoundrel, or whatever he is. Nevertheless, since the nikah of the minor girl was contracted by her father, it became valid and binding (lazim), and the girl has no option of puberty (khiyar al-bulugh).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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