In divorce, it is the husband's word that counts
22-5-2013 | IslamWeb
Question:
salam wallikum ..a divorce saman a person from court came but i was not at home stating that your husband has sent it, but when i spoke to my husband he said that he did not sent it and he dose not want to divorce me, he said it could be his family, but after that I did not hear from him now he is saying that his affair with bhabhi should agreed by me or he will marry some one else...i dont want divorce nor can i adjust this relation ship what shouls i do.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
Sharee'ah (Islamic law) has made divorce in the husband’s hand and thus he is the one who has the right to divorce his wife. If he denies divorce and there is no proof that he has actually divorced her, then the husband’s word is taken into account. It is narrated in the Masaa’il of Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal from his son Saalih: "I asked him (Imaam Ahmad) about a woman who claimed that her husband divorced her, but she does not have evidence while her husband denies it. He said, “The husband’s word must be taken …” [End quote]
We do not understand what you mean by your saying: “I did not hear from him”, if you mean that he has absented himself from you, then we say it is not permissible for the husband to be away from his wife for more than six months except with her permission. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 84073.
On the other hand, you did not explain to us the reality of his relationship with the wife of his brother. If it is a prohibited relationship, then it is incumbent upon you to rebuke him for that and it is not permissible to keep silent and accept that he commits that great sin. If he insists on that, then it is more appropriate for you to ask for divorce even in return for a compensation. There is no good for you to remain in marriage with a man who has a sinful relationship with the wife of his brother.
However, if what is meant is that he respects and reveres her for she is the wife of his brother without doing with her anything of what Allaah The Almighty has prohibited or what may lead to that, then there is nothing wrong with that and you should not rebuke him for that.
Allaah Knows best.