Is it permissible to seek divorce from a husband who is excessively critical and constantly compares me to others, desires to marry but is financially incapable, while I am trying to help him stop conversing with foreign women, and I have grown weary of the situation?

We advise the wife to strive in reforming her husband. If he straightens out and treats her kindly, that is better than separation. However, if he remains as he is, then there is no blame upon her in seeking divorce or khulʿ, and the warning in the hadith: "Any woman who asks her husband for divorce without ba’s, the scent of Paradise will be forbidden to her," does not apply to her. For "ba’s" refers to the hardship that compels her to do so, or severe harm. So, if there is a legitimate Islamic reason for divorce, such as if he beats or harms her, or if he is a dissolute person who drinks intoxicants, or if she intensely dislikes him and cannot bear it, then there is no harm in seeking divorce.