Sending one's wife to live with her in-laws

Q: I am a woman 29 years old I am married for the past 5 years and have a 4 year old daughter. For the last 4 years i was in dehli India with my in laws and my husband was in USA. He visited us twice in that time for 2-3 months now I got my immigration and is living with him for the past 8 months. He has changed a lot he demands me to go back and live my in laws in india my father in law is not alone there I have two brother in laws with their wives and children living with him and my 3 sister in laws are also married and have children but he want to please is family by sending me and my daughter back so he can prove to his family that he is a sincere son and loves them more and is sacrificing his life to make them happy as they also want him to send us back. When i protested he started ignoring me he even said that he don't want anymore children as I have to go back to india and he will live and earn in the US and i can't take care of 2 kids at a time. We have no physical relationship also for the past 3 months he doesn't even touch me or look at me and sleeps in a different room. My question is that can a husband do that to his wife? Can he force her to live with his family? Does he have all the rights to make decisions alone to have kids or not or to love a wife or not? What should a wife do? Can she demand him to keep her and their daughter with him or she is obliged to go back and serve his family for the rest of her life?

A: We advise that you refer your problem to a pious, senior aalim who deals with marital problems (who yourself as well as your husband agree upon) and ask him to explain to your husband his marital responsibilities and obligations.

 

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)