Questionable condition in their marriage contract

23-9-2004 | IslamWeb

Question:

My husband has been married before me and divorced with 2 kids. His ex-wife is living in his apartment with the kids now. I just noticed that in our marriage contract it is written that he is ready to receive me in his apartment after the marriage. Since we are not living there because his ex-wife is and he cannot complete this part of the contract now can I ask the annulment of the marriage contract for this reason?

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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. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

It is an obligation upon the husband to provide his wife with a separate accommodation whether or not this is conditioned in the contract. Therefore, your husband has to provide you with a separate accommodation, whether the specified apartment or another. By a separate accommodation we mean one with its own amenities which you can lock separately, where a woman is safe from the sight of others, even if it is a part of a house. However, it is not appropriate to invalidate the marriage contract because of this. Some Islaamic jurists are of the view that even if the husband is in difficulty to provide an accommodation, the wife still does not have the choice to invalidate the contract. We advise you, therefore, to be frank with your husband and remind him that he is obliged to offer you an accommodation. You can seek the help of whomever you think can convince him. We advise you as well to be patient with him if he does not do so, or is unable to do so. Lastly, we should note that in such cases, it is more appropriate to refer the issue to Islaamic foundations as they are more able to study the circumstances and surroundings of such cases.

Allaah knows best.