Q. A woman’s husband went to work abroad over three years ago and she has had no word from him ever since. We in fact consider him missing. She is in real financial trouble because she cannot work. Please advise.
K. Khan
A. There are two aspects to this problem: Helping the man’s wife and family, and the status of the marriage. As for the woman herself, and her children, if any, they should be given whatever help available.
If the woman could be given some training so that she could work and look after herself and her family, this will be the best kindness to give her.
In this sort of thing, even zakah money could be paid, not only to give her what meets her basic needs, but also to pay, say, for the fees of any education or training she needs in order to have a job of her own.
Her relatives should be the first to approach about helping her. If they are too poor to help, then she could be helped by zakah and sadaqah from anyone. The important thing is to look after her properly.
As for the status of the marriage, it depends on what the people close to the case think. Are they sure that the man is unreachable? Do they think that he might have died? There are numerous incidents of people seeking jobs abroad but meeting their end in difficult situations, such as boat people who drown, or those smuggled in lorries into European countries. The woman and her family should try to get any information they can about the whereabouts of the husband. If they have absolutely no way of knowing, then they should apply to the authorities for a suitable ruling.
It is better to consult a lawyer on this point, because the laws of different countries look at such matters differently. It is possible from the Islamic point of view to apply for nullification of the marriage on grounds of neglect, but this is an area that should be looked into in detail by a competent lawyer.
