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Fatwa CenterHas multiple wives and cannot take more than one while studying abroad
Question
I have 2 wives. I am studying abroad. I cannot come with all the wives now. Do I have the ability to come with one after some time, take her back and bring another one? What should I do? I need to be with one.
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. It is an obligation upon the husband to deal with his wives justly. Justice here covers housing, livelihood, conjugal rights (bed affairs and so forth), expenditure, etc. If he decides to accompany one of his wives in a travel, then he has to make them draw lots, and accompany the one who wins. This is the opinion of the Shafi'e school of thought (Jurisprudence/ Fiqh). As for the Hanafi School, this procedure is not an obligation. The Maliki School adopts the same opinion as that of the Hanafi , unless the travel was for Jihad (fighting in the cause of Allah) or for Hajj (Pilgrimage to the Scared House in Mekkah). The preponderant opinion, however, is that it (the procedure of drawing lots) is an obligation being a matter of justice on one hand, and because the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to do it, on the other (as reported in the Sahihain - two authentic books of Hadith). All what has just been said about travel is relevant to the ordinary (temporary or short time travel). As for permanent travel (migration to another place for a long period), then he has to travel accompanying all of his wives unless they agree on a certain compromise. Al-Buhouty says in his 'Kash-shaf Al-Qinaa': If one is to migrate from a place to another (to stay there for a long period), then he has to accompany all of his wives as far as possible. If it is not possible then he must not single out one wife to travel with unless by drawing lots, since to do so is an injustice. But if it happened that he traveled with one of them without drawing lots, then he has to compensate the other(s) (by allotting them the same length of time he spent with the one he accompanied in his travel). If it is impossible or difficult for him to accompany all of his wives and he sends them back (accompanied by a Mahram, or an unmarriageable male relative), in this case he does not have to make up for anyone of them, for they are all equal in being left alone. In case he traveled with the wife who won the lot and he settled with her in the place of destination, then he has to make up for the other(s) by allotting them the same duration he spent with the accompanying wife in that place of destination. The time he spent while still on his way (before reaching and settling in his area of destination) is not to be taken into account, as it is not considered residence. In Tuhfat-ul-Habeeb, As-Suyouti says about the travel: In case the husband fails to travel (to stay there for a long period), accompanied by all of his wives, then he may accompany one/some of them first (after drawing lots) and then send some one or go himself to bring them to live with him. To sum up, one may accompany in his travel one of his (two or more) wives for a certain period of time then return her and take the other(s) for the same duration provided they agree on this. Allah knows best.
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