Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

In Pakistan, after marriage boy continues to live with his parents and the wife tries to adjust herself in the family, but sometimes theres a lot of friction. Whats the position as per Islam. Does the boy have to keep wife in a separate house ? Can a wife demand that and refuse to live with his whole family ?

shukran

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Answer:

Right of wife to separate house

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The wife is well within her rights in Islam to ask her husband to provide her with a separate house, if she is not willing to live with the extended family of the man. If the husband has the means, he should satisfy this demand of his wife; and if the husband does not have the means, he must at least strive to provide her a separate segregated room.

The wife does not have a right to demand that the husband also separate from the family and come and live with her permanently in her separate house if he does not wish to do so, for the parents have a bigger right to be served. It is the duty and responsibility of the man to balance and give his parents their due rights without compromising the rights of his wife.

What generally happens is that when the husband provides the wife with a separate house, the husband too is expected to move with the wife to the new house; which is incorrect. His responsibility is to provide the separate house for his wife and provide for its complete upkeep; but he is not required to move in to the new house if he does not wish to do so.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan