does not mean that he is not required to provide her with a maidservant. Rather, the phrase “but not that of her maidservant” indicates that she does have a maidservant; what is meant is that he is not responsible for the cost of the maidservant’s personal cleanliness. The maidservant’s cleanliness and maintenance are the wife’s responsibility, not the husband’s; or, if the maidservant receives wages, her maintenance is her own responsibility.

For example, if a woman is of the type who is customarily served, we say to the husband: You must provide her with a maidservant. If he says, “She is a young woman and can serve herself,” we reply: Yet she is entitled to her maintenance and clothing in accordance with what is customary, and she is a woman customarily served—whether because of her age, her youth, or her social standing. If a woman is customarily served for one of these three reasons, the husband is required to provide her with a maidservant. However, the cost of the maidservant’s personal cleanliness is not the husband’s responsibility; rather, it is borne by the wife or by the maidservant herself.

This matter is determined by custom. In our custom in the Kingdom, no one is entitled to a maidservant. Only in recent times have people begun bringing in domestic servants. Previously, even if a woman were among the most noble or wealthiest of people, she would not need a maidservant; she knew that she had come to her husband in order to serve him. But if circumstances change, the matter returns to custom, for the texts of the Quran and sunnah refer this matter back to custom.

His statement: “nor medicine,” means that he is not required to provide medicine for his wife. Thus, if his wife has a headache and says, “I want you to bring me some aspirin tablets,” and the husband refuses, he is not obliged to do so.

If it is said: It has already been stated that he is required to provide oil for her hair, a comb, and matters connected with that, whereas this deserves it even more.