The right of a husband over his wife

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Once a man brought his daughter to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "This daughter of mine refuses to marry." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the girl: "Obey your father." The girl said: "I will not marry until you tell me what the husband's right over his wife is." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The husband's right over his wife is that if the husband had an ulcer and his wife licked that ulcer, or if pus or blood streamed from his nostrils and his wife licked it, she still would not have fulfilled his right." At this the girl said: "Then by the One who sent you with the truth, I will never marry." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her father: "Do not marry women off without their permission."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Any woman who dies while her husband is pleased with her will enter Paradise."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! What is the husband's right over his wife?" the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The husband's right is that the wife should not refuse herself to him, even if she is on the saddle of a camel." The woman asked again: "O Messenger of Allah! What is the husband's right over his wife?" the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That she should not give anything from her husband's house in charity without his permission. If she does so, the husband gets the reward and the wife gets the sin." The woman said again: "O Messenger of Allah! What is the husband's right over his wife?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That the woman should not go out of the house without her husband's permission. If she does so, the angels of Allah, the angels of mercy and the angels of wrath curse her until she repents or returns." The woman asked: "Even if her husband is unjust to her?" He said: "Yes, even if he is unjust." Then the woman said: "By the One who sent you with the truth, after today I will never make anyone the master of my affair," meaning that she would not marry.

Husayn bin Mihsan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: My paternal aunt came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for some need. When her need had been met, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do you have a husband?" She said: "Yes." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How do you treat him?" She said: "I always seek his good, except in what I am unable to do." the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Be mindful, for he is your Paradise and he is your Hell."

When Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) returned from Yemen, he said: "O Messenger of Allah! We saw a people who prostrated to one another; should we not prostrate to you?" the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No. No one may prostrate to anyone except Allah. If I were to order anyone to prostrate to someone, I would order women to prostrate to their husbands."

The same has been reported through another chain.

Abdullah bin al-Harith (may Allah have mercy on him) said: There are three people whose prayer does not rise even above their heads: an imam with whom the people are displeased; a woman who disobeys her husband; and a slave who has run away from his master.

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "O women! If you knew what right your husbands have over you, you would begin wiping the dust from their faces with your own faces."

Sayyiduna Amr bin al-Harith bin al-Mustaliq (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It used to be said: Of all people, the most severely punished will be two: a woman who disobeys her husband, and an imam whom the people dislike.

The mother of Humayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When the people of Madinah were about to send off a daughter to her husband, they would bring her to Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) would pass her hand over her head, supplicate for her, and advise her to adopt taqwa (fear of Allah) and to fulfil the husband's right.

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not permissible for anyone to prostrate to anything. If prostrating to other than Allah were permissible, women would have been permitted to prostrate to their husbands."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a man calls his wife to his bed and she refuses, and the husband spends the night angry with her, the angels keep cursing that woman until morning."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If I were to order anyone to prostrate to someone, I would order the woman to prostrate to her husband. If a man ordered his wife to move from a red mountain to a black mountain, or from a black mountain to a red mountain, it would be fitting for her to do so."

Sayyiduna Talq bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were present with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and I heard the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When the husband calls his wife for his need, she must come, even if she is sitting at the oven."

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The predecessors used to say: If a woman were to lick her husband's nose because of leprosy, and die because of it, she still would not have fulfilled her husband's right.

Al-Qasim bin Mukhaymirah said: Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) was put forward by his people to lead the prayer. He declined, but the people insisted and put him forward anyway. When he had finished leading the prayer, he said: "Are all of you pleased with my leading the prayer?" The people said: "Yes." Then he said: "All praise is for Allah. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'There are three people whose prayer is not accepted: a woman who goes out of the house without her husband's permission; a runaway slave; and a man who leads people in prayer while they dislike him.'"

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There are three people whose prayer does not rise even above their ears until they repent: a runaway slave; a woman whose husband is displeased with her; and an imam whose followers are displeased with him."

Zayd bin Wahb (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to us: A woman should not observe a voluntary fast without her husband's permission.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When a woman's husband is present, she should not observe a voluntary fast without his permission.