Answer: Yes, based on the general wording of His saying, “Then provide for them,” and because in summer and winter she will need clothing; she cannot live naked!

Third: If he provides for her and it then becomes clear that she is not pregnant, what is the ruling?

Answer: He may recover the maintenance from her.

“Maintenance is for the pregnancy, not for her on account of it. And whoever is confined—even wrongfully—or is disobedient, or voluntarily fasts without his permission, …”

His statement, “Maintenance is for the pregnancy, not for her on account of it”: The jurists differ over this issue. Some hold that maintenance is due to the pregnant woman on account of the pregnancy.

Others hold that it is due to the pregnancy, not to the pregnant woman on account of it. Is this disagreement substantive or merely verbal? It is substantive. Let us consider which of the two views is better supported by the evidence.

Those who say that maintenance is due to the pregnant woman on account of the pregnancy cite Allah’s saying: “And if they are pregnant, then provide for them” [al-Talaq: 6]. He did not say, “Provide for the pregnancy.” Accordingly, maintenance is due to the pregnant woman on account of the pregnancy.

Those who say that it is for the pregnancy argue that whatever constitutes the effective cause of a ruling is the subject to which that ruling pertains. The effective cause of this ruling is not that she is divorced or that her marriage has been annulled; rather, its effective cause is that she carries a pregnancy. Thus, the ruling follows its effective cause. This is why Allah Most High says: “until they deliver their burden,” even though, immediately after giving birth, they may be incapacitated by the pregnancy because of fatigue, pain, and breastfeeding. Yet once she delivers the pregnancy, no maintenance is due. This shows that maintenance is for the pregnancy, not for her on account of it.