Expenditure of wife:Expenditure, includes, Housing: Expenditure means food, clothing and housing-
The purpose of expenditure is to fulfil the basic needs of life that can differ in every period of time as per custom and situation. The Almighty Allah says in the Glorious Qur’ān:
The duty of feeding and clothing nursing mothers in a seemly manner is upon the guardians of the child. No one should be charged beyond his capacity-
The seemly manner expressed about expenditure by the Almighty Allah in the Glorious Qur’ān indicates that the husband will be responsible for the expenditure of his wife as per custom, tradition and time-
Ā’ishah (rz) narrated that Hind, the daughter of ʿUtbah, said to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasllam “Abū Sufyān is a miserly man and I need to take some money of his wealth.” The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasllam said, “Take reasonably what is sufficient for you and your children-
ٖProvide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner
The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasllam said: Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner-
It is obligatory on the husband to take care of the maintenance of his wife due to nikāḥ ṣaḥīḥ (valid marriage) So, either she is Muslim or from other kitabiyah(Jesus or Christian), mature or an immature who can have legitimate relation or she has just reached the puberty, she is either well-to-do or poor, whether the husband has had sexual relation with her or he has not had it due to any reason, she is either mentally well or disturbed, the husband is either well-to-do or immature, if she is in the home of her husband and she has even the least degree of attraction, the husband will be responsible for her maintenance. If the wife goes outside the home due to any lawful right or any excuse taking permission from her husband, the maintenance of the wife will be on the shoulder of the husband-Expenditure of wife
Expenditure includes
In view of the teachings of the Glorious Qur’ān, Ḥadīth and Sharīʿah, it is seen that the expenditure of wife includes all the basic needs of life that relate to the custom and situation of every age. No one can decide those needs. However, the Fiqh scholars have said that the maintenance of a wife includes the seven following things:
Food
Curry
Stuffs for cleanliness
Clothing
Necessities of home
Home for residency
Servant if the wife belongs to the family that hires a domestic servant for service
Food
Food provision is of two types. One is that the husband should provide prepared food. If the wife belongs to a family where women themselves cook foods, then it is not necessary for a husband to provide prepared food. Secondly, if the wife belongs to a family where women are not habituated to preparing food, then the husband will be responsible for providing prepared food-
The amount of food is not fixed. Providing sufficient amount of food is necessary. Moreover, he should know the types of food in different areas and localities and provide food according to the prevalent custom. As the amount of food is not fixed, similarly no specified amount for food can be fixed because the prices of food increase and decrease depending on the difference of time and place-
Clothing
Providing cloth to a wife is also the responsibility of her husband. No amount or type of cloth is fixed; rather a husband, considering the custom of different places, should provide the average one. The husband will be responsible for providing the cloth according to his financial capacity and the family status of the wife. At least two pairs of cloth are necessary to be prepared in a year-
Housing
Maintenance includes provision of housing or accommodation as well. The fiqh scholars specify it as “suknā”. The Almighty Allah has declared the provision of housing for a wife as obligatory (wājib). The Glorious Qur’ān says
Lodge them where you dwell, according to your wealth
The basic rulings regarding housing are as follows
Providing a house to stay in whether it is owned, rented or loaned
Both husband and wife should be taken into consideration when providing house
Providing other necessities is also necessary when providing house
Do not compel the wife to live in a house where others also inhabit without her pleasure-Expenditure of wife
The fiqh scholars have made a detailed statement in this regard. It includes
The house should be of one room in which none other than the husband and wife live. If any man, woman and matured child inhabits in the room, this will not suffice for stay-
If the house consists of several rooms and each can be locked up individually and it also consists of a bathroom and a kitchen and the wife is not disturbed by other relatives, then the house will be deemed sufficient for staying-
The house consists of several rooms and each can be locked up individually; but it does not consist of a kitchen, so this house will be called insufficient-
The house consists of several rooms and each can be locked up and the kitchen is also built apart but the washroom is shared by others and the husband is financially weak so this house will be called sufficient-
Cannot compel to live in such a house according to the Islamic principles
Note: In our Indian society, the husband provides his wife with a house where his parents dwell. If the house consists of several rooms and each can be locked up and the wife is not upset with other relatives, then providing such a house to the wife is allowed. In other case, the husband cannot compel her to live in such a house according to the Islamic principles-
So now the wife, in this condition, should share the same house with her husband’s parents, better serve his parents and get benefit from their experiences. It will have good impact on her future life and she will be, by the grace of the Almighty Allah, rewarded in this world and the Hereafter. But, if the wife neither wants to serve his parents nor does she wish to share the house with them so the husband cannot compel her to do so-
If the wife is not pleased to share the house, the husband should not feel offended by it; rather he should, considering her rights and his responsibility, provide an individual house-
Duty of husband’s parents
They should provide an appropriate house (the detail is already given above) for their son and daughter-in-law after their son is married. If the daughter-in-law shares the house happily, they should have good regards for her and consider her a member of the family and their own daughter. If she demands her legal and Islamic right and wants to live in a separate house, they should not feel offended by it; rather they should provide it considering that it is her right and the responsibility of the husband-
Due to lack of education and awareness about the Islamic and moral duties, both husband and wife, and their families get in misconception and start having fights and then hatred makes way to their relations-Expenditure of wife-
