Obey your husband, you enslave him

21-11-2005 | IslamWeb

Question:

We know that wives are not slaves to the husbands but are it necessary the wives must take permission from husband whenever they go out alone or with a guardian. Can a husband stop wife going out with reason or without reason if he wants to?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

Initially the woman should stay at her home as Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {And stay in your houses, … } [33: 33].

This becomes more emphatic if this woman is married. If there is legal necessity, there is no harm for the woman to go out provided her husband permits that. Al-Bukhari reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: "If any of your wives asks you to let her go out to the mosque, do not prevent her." An-Nawawi said: 'This Hadith is used as evidence that the woman should not go out of her husband's home except with his permission as the order in this Hadith is directed to the husband to give permission'. Al-Bukhari entitled a chapter in his book by this: "Chapter of the wife seeking permission from her husband to go to the mosque". If the husband refuses to give her permission to go out, she should abide by his order, except if she wants to perform some mandatory acts like Hajj or visiting ones parents although there is a disagreement over the last issue. All these boundaries were set to protect the conjugal life from doubts and suspicions. It is said: "Be a (woman) slave to your husband you enslave him".

Allah knows best.