Joining the husband is due unless the wife has already set the condition of completing her study
Fatwa No: 62059

Question

I am a young married man and I have no children. I live abroad and my wife lives in another country to complete her study. I am dissatisfied with this because I am alone and I fear doing something unlawful. What is the solution? May Allaah Reward you.

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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

If it is possible to live with your wife in one place where each one of you can complete his study, this will be better because it is for the best of both of you. If this is not possible and you cannot be patient and maintain your chastity, you will have to ask your wife to stay with you. On the other hand, your wife is required to obey you, for this is one of the permissible things, unless she has set a condition at the time of concluding the marriage contract of completing her study. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Obedience is required only in what is permissible."

Regarding the husband's rights over his wife, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "If I was to order anyone to prostrate himself to another, I would order the woman to prostrate herself to her husband." [At-Tirmithi]

‘Abdullaah ibn Abi Awfa narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "If I was to order anyone to prostrate himself to another, I would order the woman to prostrate herself to her husband. By The One in Whose Hands my soul is, a woman will never fulfill the rights of her Lord unless she fulfils all of her husband's rights, to the extent that she does not reject his demand (for intercourse) even if she is riding on the (camel) saddle." [Ahmad and others]

We have already mentioned that if it is possible to live with your wife in one place where each one of you can complete his study, this will be better. This is in case the study itself is permissible and free of prohibited matters, such as unlawful intermixing between the two sexes, temptation, neglecting the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab, and so on.

Allaah Knows best.

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