All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

It is the right of the husband to prevent his wife from the following matters:

First: Matters prohibited by Sharia.

Guardianship of husband over wife entails his being sincere to her in the matters of the religion, including preventing her from committing all that is prohibited. This is attested to in the verse where Almighty Allah says (What means): "O ye who believe! save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who flinch not (from executing) the Commands they receive from God, but do (precisely) what they are commanded." {At-Tahrim, 6}.

Second: Some recommended acts of worship that may conflict with the husband`s right to the marital relation. For example, voluntary fast, Haj, Umrah, and the like.

Third: Some lawful matters, not all, that conflict with his guardianship over her, and may conflict with his right to the marital relation. For example, her leaving home without his permission and receiving Mahram men and women with whom he is displeased. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "It is not lawful for a woman to observe (voluntary) fasting without the permission of her husband when he is at home; and she should not allow anyone to enter his house without his permission." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Based on the above, it is the right of the husband to prevent his wife from going out of his home. However, he doesn`t have the right to prevent her from using the mobile phone so long as she uses it lawfully. But, if there is grounded suspicion and substantial evidence that she has been using it unlawfully, then it is his right to ban her from that to protect his honor. It is well known that the husband wouldn`t prevent his wife from using the phone unless he had doubts about her behaviour. Had there been trust, he wouldn`t have banned her from using the phone. Moreover, it is worth stating that this has reasons which vary from person to person. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

 

* For further details in this regard, kindly refer to Fatwas No. (862), (1269) and (914).