“Once abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), was asked about the case of a man who is absent and missing. He (the Imam) said, ‘If one is absent and missing for four years the authorities must send in writing to the area where he has disappeared, and if no trace of him is found the authority then commands his guardian to provide maintenance for her and she is his woman. 5 I (the narrator) then said, ‘She may say, “I want what women want.’” He (the Imam) said, ‘She cannot do so and it is not honorable. If his guardian did not provide maintenance or his attorney, then he (the authority) commands to divorce her and it then is obligatory divorce for her.’”