i am american woman and married an egyptian muslim man in 2001.i didn't know about islam and quran but now i have accepted islam as the right path..we live in helwan egypt now.my husband (sooni) is a yeller and he has hit me and i knew nothing of protecting my marriage rights (dowry)in my marriage contract.he is disrespectful to me and yesterday he told me he was going to throw me out into the street.he has a condo here paid 4 and it does not have my name on it.what are my rights according to islam and legally?and if i want to divorce what do i need to do?(i wish to remain muslim)

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

We congratulate you for receiving Allaah's blessing of embracing Islam and we ask Allaah to make you firm upon it until you die, and to grant all of us entrance into Paradise by His favor and mercy. Showing gratitude to Allaah for this blessing is done by seeking beneficial knowledge, doing righteous deeds, befriending good people, staying away from bad people, and similar things that help one stay firm (on the straight path).

The Muslim husband is required to treat his wife kindly, being generous to her and honoring her. Allaah The Exalted Said (what means): {And live with them in kindness. For if you dislike them - perhaps you dislike a thing and Allaah makes therein much good.}[Quran 4:19], and the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, advised men to be kind to women and commanded them to treat women well. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 88304.

If your husband is treating you poorly as you mentioned, hitting you and threatening to throw you out in the street, then he is exceeding the limits of ill-treatment and is in opposition to the  aforementioned Islamic guidelines. We advise you to first have patience and to make Du‘aa’ for him that Allaah rectifies him.

While the woman who is harmed by her husband has the right to seek divorce, do not hasten to that until you decide that divorce is the best way to fix the situation. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 85044.

If divorce takes place, then the divorced woman has certain rights we clarified in Fatwa 83934. But if arguments ensue, then the correct path is to consult an Islamic court since the decision of the judge is binding for both sides.

As for what the divorced woman is entitled to according to man-made law, we do not know of it, nor does it concern us if it contradicts Islamic law. Rather, it is not permissible to consult non-Islamic courts when Islamic courts are available.

Allaah Knows best.