that the Prophet ﷺ would thereafter allocate to her two days. If, however, the wife who had originally donated her turn later asks for it back, the husband must give her her share in the future.

A wife is also permitted to waive her right to her turn and to maintenance so that the husband may retain her and she remain under his care, in view of the verse: “If a woman fears from her husband contempt or desertion, there is no blame upon the two of them if they come to a mutual settlement; and settlement is best” (Q 4:128). ʿĀʾishah — may Allah be pleased with her — explained: “This concerns a woman who is with a man who no longer desires her as he once did and intends to divorce her. She says, ‘Keep me and do not divorce me, and you are absolved of spending on me and of allotting me a night.’” In the same spirit, when Sawda grew elderly and feared that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ might part with her, she said, “My day belongs to ʿĀʾishah.”

Should a man marry a virgin while already having other wives, he stays with her for seven days, then begins to rotate among all his wives; those seven days are not counted against her regular turns. If he marries a woman who is not a virgin, he stays with her for three days, then begins the rotation, and those three are likewise not counted. This is based on the report of Abū Qilābah from Anas — may Allah be pleased with him — who said: “It is part of the Sunnah that when a man marries a virgin in addition to a non-virgin, he remains with her for seven nights and then allots the turns; and if he marries a non-virgin, he remains with her for three nights and then allots the turns.”