Salam alaykum, What is the Islamic ruling on a married woman living separately from her husband e.g different state or country, due to employment. She got a job in another state/country and wants to leave her husband to settle down in her place of work. Please note that they have little children all less than five years, and the husband agreed that she can go with the kids. I look forward to your response to my question. Thank you.

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.

If the wife is living in a safe place, i.e. a country where she feels safe and does not fear for herself or her children and her husband agrees that she live in another country away from him, then there is no harm in that. Cohabitation is one of the husband’s rights over his wife and he would have then given up this right. Imaam Maalik wrote, “The husband is entitled to take his wife and travel to another country even if she disliked it …” [Al-Mudawwanah]

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 155371.

Needless to say, it is better for the wife to stay with her husband so that they would keep each other safe from the causes of Fitnah (temptation), especially in our present time when Fitnah abounds.

Allaah Knows best.