Fatwa: # 18532
Category: Marriage
Country: United Kingdom
Date: 2nd March 2010

Title

If a person gets married and after a few years just disappears and cant be located except by difficult search by relatives. Only has to be searched and brought to hime after few..

Question

If a person gets married and after a few years just disappears  and cant be located except by difficult search by relatives. Only has to be searched and brought to hime after few years and then stays with his wife and children for few days only and then agian gets diappeared. takes no responsibility to help the family finanacially or otherwise and seems not to have any illness. what is the status of his relationship with his wife and what things are necessary to keep this relationship?

Answer

 

In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful


Assalāmu ῾alaykum wa Rahmatullāhi Wabarakātuh

 

The actions of the man are utterly reprehensible.  He has marital, financial, and other obligations toward his wife and children that he is not fulfilling and entirely negligent of.  It is immoral and irresponsible for him to simply disappear and leave his family on more than one occasion now.

 

The wife should contact the local imām or elders of the family to investigate the root cause behind the actions of this man.  All effort should be exerted in resolving the issue so that man ceases to desert his family and acts as a proper husband and father.  If the man has decided to not stay with his wife and children anymore and is unwilling to reconsider, then he should divorce his wife, thus allowing her to move on with her life.  However, if he refuses to divorce her, then she may offer to return her mahr in exchange for a khul’a.

 

In the case where the husband refuses to live with his wife or to release her from his marriage, or if the relatives are unable to contact him, then the imām, along with other ‘ulamā’ of the community, will pursue alternate means of providing relief to the wife.

 

And Allāh Ta῾āla Knows Best

Wassalāmu ῾alaykum

 

Mufti  Abrar Mirza, (Chicago, US)
Checked and Approved by:

 

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Dārul Iftā

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