What is your opinion on the following matter? A friend of mine gave a first Talaaq to his wife as the latter was disobedient to him and was too obstinate such that for nearly any issue there used to be a lot of disputes between them. Her father came to his house unexpectedly and engaged in a dispute with my friend and his parents. Then all of a sudden he exclaimed he was taking back his daughter to his house without the prior consent of my friend who kept warning him that he had more right on his wife now than her father. Now the girl does not want to come back. What do the Shariah and Hadeeth say about this situation?

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. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

The jurists stated that when a woman gets married, her husband has more right on her than her father, and her obedience to him has priority over her obedience to her father. Ibn Al-Qayyim said: 'When a woman gets married, her husband has more right on her than her father, and her obedience to her husband is more obligatory (than to her father).' He also said: 'According to the view of the majority of scholars she cannot go out of her home except with her husband's permission, even if her father or mother or any other relative orders her to do so.'

Therefore, her father was wrong in taking her away from her husband's home without his permission, even if he took her away in a revocable divorce it is still not permissible for him to do so. During her waiting period, she is still considered as a wife and her husband can take her back even if she does not want to. If she had deliberately obeyed her father she is sinful, and she has to return to the house of her husband as long as her waiting period has not expired as she is still considered his wife.

We advise her husband to endeavour to reconcile with her, first seeking Allaah's Help and then the help of whomever he expects to influence her and her family. If reconciliation is achieved, then all perfect praise be to Allaah, otherwise it is permissible for him to take the matter to an Islamic court, if any, otherwise to the Muslim community. 

Allaah knows best.