What is the ruling on a wife who refuses intimacy with her husband during Ramadaan because she is preoccupied with worship and drawing close to Allaah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The month of Ramadaan is an important occasion for
worshippers to increase their worship and for sinners to give up their ways
and reconcile themselves with their Lord by giving up their sin and doing
more acts of worship and obedience, so that they may turn over a new leaf
and start a new life.There are saheeh ahaadeeth which speak of the virtue of
fasting, praying qiyaam and observing i’tikaaf. And in Ramadaan there is a
night – Laylat al-Qadr – which Allaah has made better than a thousand
months.Based on this, the one who wants to spend the days of this
month in worshipping his Lord cannot be denounced. People are
psychologically prepared to read Qur’aan and obey the Most Merciful, whether
they are men or women.It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Whoever spends the nights of Ramadaan in prayer out of
faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (37) and Muslim (760).Secondly:
Women should understand that their husbands have great rights
over them. It is not permissible for a woman to refuse her husband these
rights, or to refuse them for the sake of naafil acts of worship.It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Awfa (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad,
no woman can fulfil her duty towards Allaah until she fulfils her duty
towards her husband. If he asks her (for intimacy) even if she is on her
camel saddle, she should not refuse.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah (1853); classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1938.What this means is that
women are urged to obey their husbands, and that they should not refuse them
even in this situation, so how about in other situations?Haashiyat al-Sindi ‘ala Ibn Maajah.
Because of the importance of husbands’ rights, women are
enjoined to ask their permission before doing some acts of worship which may
conflict with their rights, such as the following:1 – Observing naafil fasts.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No woman should fast when
her husband is present except with his permission. Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(4896) and Muslim (1026).Al-Nawawi (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: This is to be understood as referring to voluntary
and recommended fasts for which there is no specific time. It is understood
as meaning that this is haraam, as our companions stated. The reason for
that is that the husband has the right to intimacy with his wife on all
days, and his right is to be implemented immediately, and cannot be deferred
because of voluntary acts of worship or because of an obligatory deed that
may be done at any time. End quote.Sharh Muslim, 7/115.
2 – Going out to the mosque
It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “When the wife of any one of you asks for permission to go
to the mosque, do not forbid her.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (4940) and Muslim
(442).Thirdly:
The husband has to fear Allaah with regard to his wife, and
not burden her with more than she can bear. Many men keep their womenfolk
busy all day with cooking, and at night with making sweets, so the woman’s
days and nights are wasted and she cannot make the most of her fasting days
or her nights by doing acts of worship. One of the wife’s rights over her
husband is that she should have a share of the worship of this month. So he
should not prevent her from reading Qur’aan, or praying qiyaam. There should
be understanding between them so that there will not be any conflict between
his rights and her worship of her Lord. This, of course, has to do with
naafil acts of worship; with regard to obligatory acts of worship, the
husband has no right to stop his wife doing them.The way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) with his wives was to encourage them to worship and obey Allaah,
especially in the last ten days of Ramadaan.It was
narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “When the
(last) ten nights began, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) would tighten his waist-wrapper (i.e., strive hard in
worship or refrain from intimacy with his wives), stay awake at night and
wake his family.”Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1920) and Muslim (1174).
If both husband and wife
understand their rights and duties, they will avoid difficulties and
arguments in most cases. If they understand that such occasions will only
recur a few times during their lives, this should make them keener to make
the most of the days and nights of Ramadaan.We ask Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, to reconcile
your hearts and to help you to obey Him and worship Him properly.And Allaah knows best.
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