[A Woman Whose Husband Became Insane, and She Did Not Annul—Then, When She Despaired, She Annulled]

Mufti:

Alsayyed Muhammad b. Abdallah Awad Al-Muayyady

تاريخ النشر: December 23, 2025

Fatwa number: 18416

Number of views: 3

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[A Woman Whose Husband Became Insane, and She Did Not Annul—Then, When She Despaired, She Annulled]

Fatwa number: 18416

Question: A woman was married for years. Then the husband fell into insanity. She remained with him, enabled him (sexually), and tended to his needs—doing so because she hoped for his recovery, expected he would get better, and assumed that with treatment and care the illness would pass, as happens with other patients who use medication. She cared for him and pursued his treatment and recreation, yet he did not recover; in fact, his condition worsened. At that point she left him and annulled the marriage.
Does her enabling him at the beginning of his illness, and her treating him in the hope that it was a passing condition, count as acceptance of the defect that would prevent annulment?

Answer—with Allah’s enabling: The foundation in this chapter is the story of Barīrah. When she was emancipated, she left her husband and sought to be rid of him. Her husband followed after her, but she did not respond; she rejected him. The Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) approached her and said, “He is your husband and the father of your child.” She asked, “O Messenger of Allah, are you commanding or interceding?” He (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) replied, “Rather, I am interceding.” She said, “I have no need of him.” Then the Prophet (May Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace) said to her, “You remain at liberty of choice so long as you do not enable him [to have relations with you].” This is the gist of the report.
This is on the basis that Barīrah’s husband was a slave. If he had been free, then the cause of annulment would not have been the occurrence of a defect in either spouse, but rather Barīrah’s ownership of herself by virtue of emancipation.
Source: Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.1