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Fatwa CenterA wife may not desert her family for worship
Question
If a married women decided to move far away from her family and do only ibadah. Is it a sin to move away from the family to worship Allah the almighty?
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 
is His slave and Messenger.
A wife has obligations towards her husband and children. She is required to obey her husband in what is permissible and to take care of him as regards herself, his property and his children. Allaah says (what means): {So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband’s] absence what Allaah would have them guard.}[Quran 4:34] Al-Qurtubi 
said in Al-Jaami’ Li Ahkaam Al-Quran: “This whole verse is report, but it means a command, i.e. it is imperative for her to obey her husband and to fulfill his right of maintaining his property and herself when the husband is absent.”
It is confirmed that Ibn ‘Umar 
said: “I heard the Prophet say: “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock: … and a woman is a shepherd in her husband’s home and she is responsible for her flock.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Hence, if the wife completely fulfills those duties, she draws nearer to Allaah and gets a great reward from her generous Lord. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: “If a woman performs her five obligatory prayers, keeps her private parts chaste, and obeys her husband, she will enter Paradise from any gate she wishes." [Ibn Hibbaan]
So a woman is performing an act of worship when she looks after her husband and her children. As regards leaving her husband on the grounds of devoting herself to worship, then if she does so, she is wrong even if she believes that she is doing something good. Thus it is not permissible for a wife to abandon her husband, and if she does so, she is sinful. Besides, she is not permitted to go out of her husband’s home in the first place without his permission without necessity. Please refer to Fatwa 155975.
However, s he may designate a place in her home for the purpose of worship during her spare time. The more secluded and isolated the place is from men, the better for her it is to pray there. Imaam Ahmad reported that Umm Humayd, wife of Abu Humayd As-Saa'idi 
came to the Prophet and told him: “O Prophet of Allaah, I like praying with you (i.e. in your Masjid)." He replied: "I know that you like praying with me. However, your prayer in your storage room is better than your prayer in your bedroom; your prayer in your bedroom is better than your prayer in your courtyard; your prayer in your courtyard is better than your prayer in the prayer area of your relatives; and your prayer in the prayer area of your relatives is better than your prayer in my Masjid."
Allaah Knows best.
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