He Wants His Wife to Wear Jewelry for Him All the Time
Fatwa No: 452641

Question

SalamMy question as a husband is I want my wife to wear jewelry for me all the time in our home. She only likes to wear jewlery when going outside to ladies parties. She's not convinced that I've a right under Islam to do so. Please elaborate from Islamic perspective if I'm claim this as a right over her?

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.

It is the duty of the wife to obey her husband in all matters related to sexual enjoyment in terms of beautification, applying perfume, and the like. The Islamic Sharee’h has urged the wife to adorn herself for the husband with clothes, perfume, and the like. She has been commanded to adorn herself with whatever pleases her husband and makes him happy. Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah said: “The best of women is the one who makes her husband happy when he looks at her, obeys him when he commands her, and she does not go against his wishes with regard to herself nor her wealth.” [Ahmed and An-Nasaa’i, Al-Albaani classified it as Saheeh (authentic].

Wives should adorn themselves to their husbands even if they do not ask them to do so as they like their husbands to adorn themselves to them. Jurists stipulated that it is the right of husbands that their wives adorn themselves to them.

Ad-Durr Al-Mokhtaar, authored by Al-Haskafi from the Hanafi School of jurisprudence, reads: “A husband may raise a complaint to the Judge against his wife for not dressing for him since adornment is his right.” [End of quote]

Adornment is the right of the husband over his wife, and she cannot forsake it. This right shall be more obligatory when her husband asks her to do so.

The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Jurisprudence reads: “If the husband orders his wife to adorn herself for him, then adornment shall be obligatory on her because it is one of his rights, and because obedience to the husband in kindness is the duty of the wife.” [End of quote]

Wearing Jewelry is part of that adornment, so when the husband orders his wife to wear them, it becomes obligatory on her, unless there is harm on her in doing so.

Moreover, adornment is included in the command of cohabitation with kindness between the spouses. Allah The Almighty says (what means): {And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable.} [Quran 2:228]

It was reported in As-Sunnan Al-Kubra of Al-Bayhaqi and al-Musannaf of Ibn Abu Shaybah on the authority of `Ikrimah from Ibn ‘Abbas ) that he narrated: “I love to adorn myself to my wife, as I love her to adorn herself for me, because Allah The Almighty says (what means): {And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable.} [Quran 2: 228]

If you like that your wife wears Jewelry to you to look more beautiful, she may do so without excessive hardship on her, such as you asking her to wear it all the time. This will be hard for her and will not attract your attention since accustoming to something attracts no attention.

In any case, this should not be a cause of disagreement between the spouses; rather, they are advised that each of them looks at the satisfactory aspects of one another, and when a disagreement occurs, it should be dealt wisely, taking into consideration overlooking of lapses and seeking excuses to perpetuate intimacy and affection, lest the devil finds a way to incite hatred and separation between them.

Allah Knows best.

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