16
CHAPTER ON MAINTENANCE FOR WIVES, RELATIVES, AND SLAVES, AND ON CHILD CUSTODY
589—A husband must provide his wife with maintenance, clothing, and accommodation on a reasonable basis,1 according to his means. Allah Most High says: “Let the wealthy spend according to his means; and let the one whose provision is limited spend from what Allah has given him. Allah does not require of any soul more than what He has given it” [al-Talāq: 7].
590—If she requests it, he is obliged to provide the required amount thereof. In the hadith of Jābir narrated by Muslim, it states: “They have the right that you provide them with food and clothing on a reasonable basis.” 2.
(1) The Shaykh held that the correct view is that a wife’s maintenance is forfeited only through *nushūz* (marital recalcitrance). Her imprisonment, obligatory travel, or permissible travel undertaken with her husband’s permission does not cause it to lapse. He stated: “We do not concede that the sole legal cause of maintenance is the possibility of her making herself available to her husband.”
He likewise considered the correct view to be that a woman may not annul her marriage because of her husband’s financial hardship unless he had deceived her. See *al-Mukhtārāt al-Jaliyya*, p. 112 ff.
(2) “1218.”
بَابُ النَّفَقَاتِ للزَّوجَاتِ والأَقَارِبِ والْمَمَالِيكِ وَالْحَضَانَةِ
٥٨٩- عَلَى اَلْإِنْسَانِ نَفَقَةُ زَوْجَتِهِ وَكِسْوَتُهَا وَمَسْكَنُهَا بِالْمَعْرُوفِ١ بِحَسَبِ حَالِ اَلزَّوْجِ؛ لِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿لِيُنْفِقْ ذُو سَعَةٍ مِنْ سَعَتِهِ وَمَنْ قُدِرَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقُهُ فَلْيُنْفِقْ مِمَّا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا مَا آتَاهَا﴾ [اَلطَّلَاقُ: ٧] .
٥٩٠- وَيَلْزِمُ بِالْوَاجِبِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ إِذَا طَلَبَتْ،
وَفِي حَدِيثِ جَابِرٍ اَلَّذِي رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ: "وَلَهُنَّ عَلَيْكُمْ رِزْقُهُنَّ وَكِسْوَتُهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ" ٢.
١ قرر الشيخ أن الصواب أن نفقة الزوجة لا تسقط إلا بنشوزها، وأما حبسها وسفرها الواجب أو المباح بإذنه فلا يسقط. قال: ولا نسلم أن النفقة علتها إمكان التمكين فقط.
كما صوب، أن المرأة لا تملك الفسخ لعسرة زوجها، إلا إذا وجد منه غرور لها. ينظر "المختارات الجلية، ص: ١١٢" وما بعدها.
٢ "١٢١٨".