Likewise, if the wife stipulates that he may not move her from her present house or homeland, the condition is valid; he may not relocate her except with her permission.
In the same way, if she stipulates that he must not separate her from her children or her parents, the condition is sound, and should he violate it, she is entitled to annul the marriage.
If she stipulates an increase in her dowry, or that it be paid in a specific currency, the stipulation is valid and binding. He is obliged to honor it, and if he fails to do so she may annul the marriage. Her right of choice is open‐ended: she may annul whenever she wishes, unless she behaves in a manner that clearly indicates contentment while knowingly accepting his breach, in which case her option lapses.
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — may Allah be pleased with him — said to a man upon whom he had ruled that the conditions stipulated by the wife were binding. The man retorted, “Then we shall divorce.” ʿUmar replied, “Rights are determined by conditions.”
The Prophet — peace and blessings be upon him — also said: “The believers are bound by their conditions.”
Ibn al-Qayyim commented: “These conditions must be fulfilled; they are even more deserving of fulfillment. This is demanded by the Sacred Law, sound reason, and correct analogy, for a woman only agreed to offer herself to her husband on the basis of that condition. Were its fulfillment not obligatory, the contract would not have been concluded by mutual consent, and she would be compelled to something that Allah and His Messenger did not oblige her to accept.”
Second: Invalid conditions in marriage
Invalid conditions fall into two categories:
- Conditions so defective that they render the contract itself void. These are of three kinds: