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Fatwa CenterHer husband broke his promise to let her work after marriage
Question
Before i got married my husband agreed that i will work. I now have one child and he says that i should wait untill she is 3 years. This is not our agreement and he has broken his promise. I need to work because he does not provide for me and my child. He only gives us food and shelter, nothing else yet his salary is enough for other things. He listens to his father alot and his father asked him to divorce me. I have left his house without his permission and i am at my parent's house. He has never asked for us nor sent his child maintanance. What should i do? Is it ok if i ask for a divorce?
Answer
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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
If the wife - or her guardian – had conditioned on the husband during the contract or before it a condition which is not implied in the contract nor does it contradict it, then the husband is obliged to fulfill it according to the preponderant view of the jurists 
. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 131714.
Therefore, if your husband had accepted your condition to work, then, it is not permissible for him to prevent you from it without a sound reason, like if the work is forbidden in itself or that it involves some forbidden matters, such as mixing and the like.
However, in case there was no condition, then it is not permissible for the wife to go out to work without the permission of her husband as long as her needs for food, clothing and housing are met. But if the husband was negligent in any of these matters, then it becomes permissible for her to go out without his permission, provided she abides by the Islamic conditions, like wearing Hijab, staying away from places of suspicion, and so on.
Based on this, we recommend that rational people from your family and his would intervene to reconcile between both of you, and reconciliation is better as Allaah informed us. Also, the husband should be reminded of the saying of the Prophet 
: “It is enough a sin for a person not to provide means of sustenance to those whom he is obliged to support.” [Abu Daawood] The wording of Imaam Muslim is: “It is enough sin for a person to hold back the due of the one whose provision is in his hands.” For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 137523.
Finally, it should be noted that a son is not obliged to obey his parents if they order him to divorce his wife – as long as she is an obedient wife – according to the preponderant opinion of the jurists as clarified in Fatwa 84056.
Allaah Knows best.
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