Can a Wife Go Abroad to Study?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question. This is quite a challenging matter which you, as a husband, can decide.

If the husband is not traveling this far distance to accompany her in her travel study, then she has to have the husband’s permission and travel with a mahram (members of her unmarriageable kin, such as a father, uncle, or brother). She cannot leave and go to a foreign country and take the children. The husband must convince her and find other alternatives to do a Ph.D., maybe online or nationally, in her home country.

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Let no woman travel for more than three days unless her husband or a Mahram is with her.” [Muslim]

Generally, this extended period where husband and wife are separated from the family will cause undue financial, emotional, and marital tensions. It is not healthy for such an extended time in the long term. The husband is the family’s breadwinner, responsible, and carer, so he has to have the final say in the matter. It is always best to travel with one’s family to seek knowledge.

Sit down with her and look at other options online, locally and nationally. Seek help and guidance from Allah Most High to facilitate ease and direction and consult other local reliable scholars, righteous family, and friends.

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Why not begin your search for knowledge by signing up for a course on SeekersAcademy (seekers.flywheelstaging.com)?

I pray this helps with your question.

Wassalam,

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey.

He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His personal interest is the love of books and gardening.