Q: My husband and I both work and pay bills together. I feel that because I work as well he should be helping me with housework. I do the cooking and taking care of the kitchen and laundry and most of the ironing. It’s just the cleaning the I need help with most times. And sometimes I want him to do his own ironing. What is the ruling in that? He seems to think it is a wife’s duty to do all that work and I’m not fulfilling it. Is he right?
A: The correct place for a woman to be is within the confines of her home. Without a Shar’iee valid need, she should not leave her home. The husband is shouldered with the obligation and responsibility of earning and supporting his family. It is recorded in the Mubaarak Hadith that Hadhrat Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) instructed Hadhrat Faatimah (radhiyallahu anha) (at the time of her nikaah with Hadhrat Ali (radhiyallahu anhu)) to fulfil the responsibilities within the home and instructed Hadhrat Ali (radhiyallahu anhu) to fulfil the responsibilities out of the home. Generally these complications come about in the nikaah when the spouses do not fulfil the roles which have been stipulated for them by the Shari’ah.
And Allah Ta’ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
فروع استأجر امرأته لتخبز له خبزا للأكل لم يجز قال الشامي: قوله ( لم يجز ) لأن هذا العمل من الواجب عليها ديانة لأن النبي قسم الأعمال بين فاطمة وعلي فجعل عمل الداخل على فاطمة وعمل الخارج على علي (رد المحتار 6/62)
Answered by:
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & Approved:
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)