Moreover, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—prescribed the same obligation toward a wife as toward a slave. On one occasion he said:

“They are entitled to their provision and clothing on reasonable terms,”

just as he said concerning a slave. On another occasion he said:

“Feed her when you eat, and clothe her when you clothe yourself,”

just as he said concerning a slave. Muslims agree that one is not obliged to transfer ownership of a slave’s maintenance to him. It is therefore clear that these words do not entail an obligation to transfer ownership.

If the spouses dispute the matter, and the wife acknowledges that he feeds her when he eats and clothes her when he clothes himself, and that this accords with what is customary for a woman like her in her locality, she is entitled to nothing beyond that. If she denies this, the judge must order him to provide maintenance on reasonable terms. Indeed, the judge may not impose a fixed sum of dirhams or a fixed quantity of grain indiscriminately; rather, he must specify what is reasonable for their circumstances.

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Likewise, “allocating nights in the first place, intercourse, marital companionship, and sexual enjoyment” are obligatory, as we have established through more than ten proofs. Whoever doubts this obligation has failed to reflect adequately on the scriptural evidence and the ordering of human affairs.

As for the extent of the obligation, one view is that he must spend one night out of every four with her and have intercourse with her once every four months, as established in the cases of the mawlā and the man married to four wives. Another view is that he must have intercourse with her on reasonable terms, with its frequency varying according to her need and his ability, exactly as with food.

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Likewise, her obligations to share his residence, live with him as his wife, and comply with his wishes concerning sexual enjoyment are binding upon her by consensus. She must live with him in any town or house, provided that