He replied:

“If matters are as stated, and he has not paid his wife the amount to which her stipulation related, he may not demand reimbursement for what he spent on the boy, provided the expenditure was reasonable. For he was not spending it as a voluntary gift, whether he did so with the mother’s permission or without it.”

He was asked—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—about a woman who gives food from her husband’s household on the grounds that she works hard there.

He replied:

“Praise be to Allah. She may give food within reasonable customary limits, such as bread, cooked dishes, fruit, and other foods customarily given. And Allah knows best.”

He was asked—may Allah have mercy on him—about a man who was unable to earn a living and possessed nothing, but had a wife and children. Was it permissible for his well-to-do son to support him, his wife, and his young children?

He replied:

“Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Yes, the well-to-do son must support his father, his father’s wife, and his young siblings. If he does not, he is undutiful towards his father, severs his ties of kinship, and deserves the punishment of Allah Most High in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows best.”