Q: I have been married for almost nine and a half years. I have always contributed to the household taking care of groceries and the other household expenses. My husband never ever gave me an allowance. he has a very extravagant lifestyle and has incurred a lot of debt. He has always taken care of his sister's expenses and spent huge sums of money doing an extravagant wedding for her which partially contributed to his debt. To keep the peace I just continued to make contributions to the house and other expenses. Sometimes cut back on things I needed just to ensure that he got what he wanted. In the past 3 months, he asked if I could assist him with budgeting to help him get out of his debt. I have also helped fund his lavish lifestyle of buying expensive clothes and paying for his fancy cellphone. When I pointed out his faults and where he needs to cut down on. He could not accept that he was wrong and refused to cut back on certain luxury items. In a fit of rage he dumped my clothes at my mums house whilst I was still at work and issued a talaaq 1 on whatsapp an email. I would just like to enquire if iddah is compulsory for me to sit in my mum's home or is it permissible for me to go to work daily. I do feel very alone as my Dad is deceased and my brother is out in 2 months Jamaat in another country at the moment. During this time my husband has gone and discussed the divorce with all my uncles and so he says with the Jamiat as well. Even though the Jamiat did not here my side of the story. his dad is away on Umrah. I sent a message to both his dad and sister telling them that he wants to end our marriage because his in financial distress and yet they are the ones that have put him there. Neither of them even bothered to respond or show me any support and yet I am the one that allowed them to have a good life whilst I had to go out and work and take care of myself. Most of my uncles do show me a lot of support, however I am one who tends to bottle up my feelings and just take the pain and do not express what is really going on inside my heart. Your guidance will really be appreciated.
A: Since he has issued one talaaq you may live in the marital home. If he revokes within the 3 monthly courses then there is no iddat to be observed.
You should discuss with some of your uncles who are experienced and understanding.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
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