Can the wife keep money for herself from the money that the couple receive in a shared bank account without her husband knowing?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
That will depend on who is considered the owner of the money in Shariah. If the person who deposited the money into the account intended to give the money to the wife then the wife is the owner of the money. She may use the money as she wishes. She does not have to tell her husband about the money.
If on the other hand the person who deposited the money into the account intended to give the money to the husband then the husband is the owner of the money. The wife cannot use this money without the husband’s permission.
And Allah knows best.
Mufti Faizal Riza
13/10/2011