Some scholars held that if the husband is unable to provide maintenance, then she—that is, the wife—must support him if she has wealth. They cited as evidence the general import of Allah’s saying, “And upon the heir is a duty like that,” [al-Baqarah 2:233]. Since the wife is an heir, they held that she must provide for him.

However, this is a weak view. Allah’s saying, “And upon the heir,” means that the heir owes the nursing mother the like of that duty.

His statement, “or housing,” refers to the case where he is unable to provide housing, whether by ownership or by renting. If he rents a house for her, she has no right to demand a house that he owns.

His statement, “then she may annul the marriage,” means with the judge’s permission; the judge must rule accordingly.

We have previously mentioned that Shaykh al-Islam, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Every annulment that is contingent upon the judge is so only in the event of a dispute. If the two spouses agree between themselves to annul the marriage, they may do so. This is the correct view.

His statement, “If he is absent and has not left her maintenance, and it is impossible for her to take it from his property or to borrow on his account, then she may annul the marriage with the judge’s permission”: the scenario is that of a well-off man who has left the town, or has gone into hiding within it and whose whereabouts are unknown. He has not left his wife any maintenance; he has no property from which she can take; and she is unable to borrow on his account. In that case, she may annul the marriage, because although he is well-off, he is like one who is insolvent, due to the impossibility of receiving maintenance. Indeed, his case is worse than that of one who is insolvent, for the insolvent man has neither means nor power, whereas this man has means and power: he can arrange maintenance for her, appoint someone to give her maintenance, and the like.