Assalaamu alaykum. My friend has 2 wives, 1 of them recently came to the UK on his visa, but she did not get along well with the other wife (both lived in one house). He has children with both of them. Recently, the wife who came on a visa has falsely accused my friend of beating her, and of other horrible things, in order to get money and a UK passport through this way, and she told my friend that she needs to do this because her lawyers are insisting on it. He still pays money to her and her children. My question is: Is is better for him not to divorce her because he fears that Allah dislikes divorce? If the wife decides to come back, does he have to start living together with her or can he refuse to take her back in his house, but without divorcing her, because she lied so much and did not apologise? Also, can a wife refuse to share a house with other wives if the husband can afford 2 houses out of fear that this will break their marriage? May Allah reward 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 is His slave and Messenger.

If a man has two wives, then each one of them has the right to be in a separate house, and she is not obliged to live in the same house, which has common amenities with the other wife, except if they both consent to that. We have already clarified this in Fataawa 264520, 86977 and 90070.

If a wife falsely accuses her husband of beating her, then this is a great evil and she must repent from it. The money that she has taken based on this accusation against her husband is not lawful for her, as she was lying. Deceiving the terms and conditions of the state in order to receive such grants is forbidden. Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said, “Muslims must honor their conditions.” [Abu Daawood]

Therefore, she must give it back to them, even if indirectly. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said, “A person who has taken the rights of others must, if he repents, give the right back to its owners. For example, if a man steals a person and then repents to Allaah, he must give back whatever he had stolen to its owner, otherwise, his repentance is not valid. A person might say: I will be exposed if I give it back to its owner, and the owner might say that the stolen sum was more than that, so what can be said in this case is that he may, for example, write a letter including the sum that he had stolen without writing his name on it and then send it to the person whom he had stolen from, or he could send the value of what he had stolen if he cannot exactly give back the goods that he had stolen (in case it was not cash) and write on the letter: This is yours from someone who had taken it from you unjustly and then repented to Allaah; and whoever fears Allaah, Allaah will make a way out for him.”

As regards divorce, it is permissible but disliked to pronounce it without a necessity. The husband should not hasten to divorce, especially given that Allaah blessed him with children from this wife. Divorce may have a negative impact on the children. So if she were to return to him, then he should accept her and giver her her rights as a wife, including an independent house, as we have already mentioned.

Allaah Knows best.