Ruling on forcing the wife to live in a particular place

14-1-2014 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is the husband permitted to force his wife to live in a particular place?

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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.

Islam obliged the husband to provide his wife with an independent proper house as much as he can afford. Allaah The Exalted Says (what means): {Lodge them [in a section] of where you dwell out of your means and do not harm them in order to oppress them.} [Quran 65: 6] 

However, it is not permissible to force her to live with others, such as his parents and other relatives.

Nonetheless, a wife should obey her husband when he asks her to live with his family, especially when he is not well off, his parents need him or any other such reason. She should know that she will be greatly rewarded for this, Allaah Willing.

Hence, if he provides her with a Sharee‘ah-approved house anywhere, she will not be entitled to refuse to dwell in it unless she has already laid down the condition of dwelling in a particular place in the marital contract.

Allaah Knows best.