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Maintenance of family

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Askimam.org

Asalaamu alaykum 

I have a problem and i would like to know in sharia what are the rights of a wife in this particular situation..

My husband works and also receives funds from goverment to support our family. Those funds are for our household which we run our household on. 

The wife does not ask her husband how much he earns and what he does with his money. The husband does not allow the wife to spend the money which government give to spend on what she needs or wants to buy for herslf or children. His opinion is that the wife should ask him and tell him.before hand where she will.spend , what she will spend on and.how much –  the wife does not waste money and had never put the husband in debt – where as the husband has done this plenty of times and wife has supported him in paying of his debts from the money which the household is run. 

My question is – does the wife have to ask him everytime she needs to buy something Islamicly ? 

Does she not have a right to.take.her share and spend it the way she wishes – as in when she needs it – just so she doesn’t have to ask and explain everytime.. she has been married to him for 12 years and is now tired of this ..it is causing a rift in there marrige.

.please advice where do i stand Islamicly.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

As-salaamu `alaykum wa-ramatullahi wa-barakatuh.

   In principle, the income of the husband belongs to him. However, it is also a principle that the husband supports his wife and children and fulfil their needs.

A diligent husband and father would understand the needs of his family and provide for them and by obtaining their needs or providing finances to his wife to fulfil the needs of the family.

It is incorrect for the husband to reduce the wife to a beggar to fulfil her needs and needs of the family. Such an attitude is against ones’ self-respect and honour.

If the husband does not adequately fulfil the basic needs of the family, and the wife has exhausted all diplomatic interventions to make the husband co-operate, then as a last resort the wife may take from her husband’s income without his permission to fulfil her and their children’s basic needs.[1]

And Allah Ta`ala Knows Best.

Hussein Muhammad.

Student Darul Iftaa

Tanzania

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.


[1]

بدائع الصنائع – ث (4/ 23)

انَّ نَفَقَةَ الزَّوْجَةِ مُقَدَّرَةٌ بِالْكِفَايَةِ وَلِأَنَّهَا وَجَبَتْ بِكَوْنِهَا مَحْبُوسَةً بِحَقِّ الزَّوْجِ مَمْنُوعَةً عن الْكَسْبِ لِحَقِّهِ فَكَانَ وُجُوبُهَا بِطَرِيقِ الْكِفَايَةِ كَنَفَقَةِ الْقَاضِي وَالْمُضَارِبِ

بدائع الصنائع – ث (4/ 23)

أَنَّ نَفَقَةَ الزَّوْجَةِ مُقَدَّرَةٌ بِالْكِفَايَةِ وَلِأَنَّهَا وَجَبَتْ بِكَوْنِهَا مَحْبُوسَةً بِحَقِّ الزَّوْجِ مَمْنُوعَةً عن الْكَسْبِ لِحَقِّهِ

شرح الأحكام الشرعية في الأحوال الشخصية (2/ 20)

وكما تجب نفقةُ الزوجة على زوجها تجب نفقة خادمتها أيضاً

مختصر صحيح مسلم للمنذري (1/ 234)

عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَقَ قَالَ كُنْتُ مَعَ الْأَسْوَدِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ جَالِسًا في الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَعْظَمِ وَمَعَنَا الشَّعْبِيُّ فَحَدَّثَ الشَّعْبِيُّ بِحَدِيثِ فَاطِمَةَ بِنْتِ قَيْسٍ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ – صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – لَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهَا سُكْنَى وَلَا نَفَقَةً ثُمَّ أَخَذَ الْأَسْوَدُ كَفًّا مِنْ حَصًى فَحَصَبَهُ بِهِ فَقَالَ وَيْلَكَ تُحَدِّثُ بِمِثْلِ هَذَا قَالَ عُمَرُ لَا نَتْرُكُ كِتَابَ اللهِ وَسُنَّةَ نَبِيِّنَا – صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – (2) لِقَوْلِ امْرَأَةٍ لَا نَدْرِي لَعَلَّهَا حَفِظَتْ أَوْ نَسِيَتْ لَهَا السُّكْنَى وَالنَّفَقَةُ قَالَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا تُخْرِجُوهُنَّ مِنْ بُيُوتِهِنَّ وَلَا يَخْرُجْنَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِينَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُبَيِّنَةٍ.

This answer was collected from Askimam.org, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa.

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