Wife's situation while husband away in Europe

10-9-2001 | IslamWeb

Question:

I work in Europe for a period of one year now. (During this period I visited her 4 times every 3 month) I left my wife at our home all that time, she's living alone with her sister and her parents are visiting her from time to time. I want to ask, what about her situation from getting out from the house to finish some things, and her situation in general about having no control on her?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
First of all you should know that living in a non-Muslim country only for the material purpose is not permissible. For more details on this issue please refer to Fatwa:
81642
As for your second question a woman can go outside her house provided she gets her husband's permission and be in complete Hijab and not perfumed to fulfill legal necessities, visit her relatives or women friends, seek good knowledge go to mosques and the like. There should be a sound reason for her doing so. However, a husband is not permitted to prevent his wife from visiting her family or going to mosques or fulfilling her legal needs.
Such as when a husband is on a journey or he is absent his wife can live in his house. On the other hand, the husband should not have doubts about his wife unless he observes something evil concerning her religion or conduct. In that case, he should not leave her alone, rather he should have her live with a Mahram of hers who could get her what she needs from the market or with his or her family to be rid of all doubts. He may also specify the places where she can go and the places she should avoid.
Allah knows best.