His statement, “not its monetary value,” means that she is not entitled to the cash equivalent of maintenance. Thus, if the wife says, “I want its value: breakfast costs one and a half riyals, lunch two riyals, and dinner two riyals, making a total of five and a half riyals; give it to me,” she has no right to demand this.
“Nor is she obliged to accept it. If they agree to this, or to defer it, or to pay it in advance for a long or short period, it is permissible. She is entitled to clothing once every year, at its beginning. If he is absent and does not provide maintenance, he remains liable for the maintenance that has elapsed. And if she spends from his property during his absence, then discovers that he had died, the heir shall make her reimburse what she spent after his death.”
His statement, “Nor is she obliged to accept it,” means that if he brings her cash and says, “I am busy and cannot bring breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so take this money instead,” is she obliged to accept the money? She is not obliged to do so; rather, her entitlement is only to food and drink. From this we know that, regarding the feeding of the poor which Allah has prescribed for the expiation of zihar, the expiation for an oath, and compensation for missed fasting, what is required is actual feeding, and cash does not suffice.
However, if it is customary for a man to give his wife the cash value of her maintenance, there is nothing wrong with that. What is prohibited, however, is for the ruler or judge to compel the husband to pay its monetary value.
Ibn al-Qayyim strongly denounced this and said: There is nothing in the Quran or the Sunnah indicating that a woman may compel her husband to pay the monetary value. Yet the author of al-Furuʿ said: Its permissibility is tenable in the event of discord—that is, discord between the spouses. Thus, if the judge is compelled to assess maintenance in cash in order to remove the discord and dispute between them, there is nothing wrong with it. For if he were to assess the maintenance as bread, dates, meat, and the like, the discord would continue: he might bring her bread of the finest quality, and she would say, “I do not want this; it was baked two days ago,” even though it had only been baked that very hour. Or he might bring her dates, and she would say, “I do not want chilled dates.” Or he might bring her meat, and she would say, “I do not want this meat. I do not eat camel meat; I want meat...”