Should Husband and Wife without Intimate Relationship Divorce?

5-9-2001 | IslamWeb

Question:

I live with my wife and her two kids; she does her duties as a housewife but she does not respond to me when I ask her to bed and there is no love between us. We do not hate each other, but we are more like brother and sister than husband and wife. Should we get divorced?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Divorce is the last solution after attempting all possible ways to reconcile the relations between you and your spouse.

Why don’t you try to implement harmony and love once again? There are many bright and positive points you may find in your spouse beside a few drawbacks. No human being is free from shortcomings. You may fill your house with joy and happiness merely by a nice word, a sweet smile or by a simple gift. Surely, you may find some mutual benefits between you and her, like having children, raising them, etc.

The ideal solution is to sit together and discuss the problem calmly seeking the way to solve it. It is very easy to bring the relations as good as they were in the beginning. Ask Allah to make you love each other and ease your troubles.

Do not forget that the happy future of the children of which you are the father is in keeping your ties with their mother. For the sake of your children in that case, try your best to continue this marriage even if you face little hardship.

Anyway, since divorce is permissible in the Sharee’ah, one may divorce if there is a valid reason for it. However only the husband can divorce his wife; the opposite is not valid in the Sharee’ah. But, a wife can demand divorce from her husband if she has an Islamic valid reason, and if he refuses, she may plead in a court.

If you need further clarification or advice, please contract us.

Allah knows best.