Does the husband have to buy medicine for his wife, if she needs it?

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate. May His blessings and peace be on His Beloved Prophet, the best of creation, and his family, companions, and followers

Assalamu alaikum,

The established position of the Shafii school is that the medical expenses of the wife—treatment, visiting a doctor, buying medicine, and so on—are not obligatory for the husband, even if he has the financial means.

However, it is best for the husband to undertake these expenses, with the intention of assisting his wife and strengthening the bonds of love between them.

[f: This is also the ruling in the Hanafi school. The ulema emphasized the financial independence of the wife: the Shariah does not conceive of the wife as being fully ‘dependent’ financially on her husband; rather, she is expected to have her own finances and the ability to spend on herself beyond the spending obligatory on the husband.]

Wassalam,

Amjad Rasheed

(Translated by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani)

السؤال: هل يجب على الزوج شراء الدواء لزوجته إن احتاجته ؟ الجواب : المقرر في مذهبنا أن نفقة تداوي الزوجة من الذهاب إلى طبيب وشراء دواء غير واجبة على الزوج ولو كان قادراً عليها ، لكن الأولى له بذل النفقة في ذلك إعانة لها وتحقيقاً للألفة بينهما .