Chapter on the Maintenance of Relatives and Owned Dependents
What is meant here by a person’s “relatives” is everyone who would inherit from him, whether by a fixed Qurʾānic share or through agnatic succession.
By “owned dependents” we mean all that falls under a person’s ownership, human or animal—namely, his slaves and livestock.
For maintenance to be obligatory toward a relative who belongs to one’s direct line of ascent or descent—that is, the provider’s parents and grandparents, however far up, and his children and grandchildren, however far down—the following conditions must be met:
- The relative in question is poor: he possesses nothing, or not enough to cover his basic needs, and he is unable to earn a livelihood.
- The provider is well-off, having surplus wealth beyond what he needs for his own sustenance, that of his wife, and that of his slave.
- Both provider and recipient share the same religion.
If the relative to be maintained is neither an ascendant nor a descendant, an additional requirement applies: the provider must be among those who would inherit from that relative.
The proof that children are obliged to spend on their parents is the Almighty’s statement, “and show excellence toward parents” (Qurʾān 17:23). Providing for them is part of that excellence—in fact, it is one of the greatest forms of kindness a child can show his parents.