Two wives sharing the same house
Fatwa No: 86977

Question

What are the rights of two wives who live in one house but have separate rooms?

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.

 

There is no harm to accommodate two wives in one house, or two separate houses if there is any benefit in that.  Muslim scholars have clearly mentioned that basically providing one house for two wives is forbidden unless they agree to that. Ibn Qudamah wrote in his book al-Mughni: ‘A husband is not allowed to keep his two wives in a house without their previous agreement since it causes harm to them due to the Ghirah (a feeling of great fury and anger when one’s honour and prestige is injured or challenged) they have that leads to disputes and disagreements.’  However, this ruling does not mean that they should avoid visiting each other, or that they should cut their relations.  Instead they should raise his children to love each other, to have mercy on each other to support and respect each other.  The husband should appreciate and teach his wives to love each other and to visit each other and should teach the rights of each family member.

A person can eliminate some problems by making two apartments with a separate entrance as well as the necessary facilities.

Allah knows best.

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