dirhams, and he complies, the one who made the offer is obliged to hand over the full thousand.
If the wife secures her release in return for covering the expenses of her ʿidda and her lodging, the khulʿ is valid provided the arrangement concerns paying the rent of the dwelling; but if it requires her to vacate his house, that stipulation is invalid. Even so, the khulʿ itself stands and is effective, and she is not forced to leave.
Should she dissolve the marriage in exchange for nursing their son for two full years, the settlement is valid. With respect to a khulʿ in return for the child’s maintenance beyond those two years for a specified period, scholars hold two views: one permits it, the other does not. Anyone who allows khulʿ for an uncatchable camel, a runaway slave, or other uncertain items must, by the same logic, allow this as well.
If, as part of the khulʿ, the husband stipulates that she bear the expenses of her pregnancy while she has no means, he must provide those expenses. Should she later become solvent, he may pursue her for what he spent and recover it. Mālik said: Justice requires that the father be charged with the child’s maintenance, even if he had placed that responsibility on the mother, when she lacks the means to meet it.
When a man settles with his wife that she will breast-feed his son and she then dies, he may deduct the cost of that nursing from her estate. If the child dies after a year, Mālik said: I have not seen anyone being pursued for the remaining sum, but were someone to make such a claim, there is room to grant it. Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam added: It has also been said that no liability remains; it is like a man who settles with his wife for the costs of pregnancy and nursing and she then miscarries—no claim is pursued for any of it. Likewise, if a man buys a young slave for five dinars on condition that the seller guarantees him, and the boy dies, the seller is liable for nothing; this, however, does not apply to a genuine, properly executed sale.
If the husband stipulates in the khulʿ that he retains the right to take her back, the stipulation is void. Another report says he may in fact reclaim her, in which case the divorce counts as revocable and he must return whatever he took; both positions are attributed to Mālik.
A khulʿ concluded by a husband who is ill is valid, for he is the recipient of the compensation; if he dies, his wife inherits from him, for the divorce occurred during his illness. By contrast, if she obtains a khulʿ while she is ill, gives him compensation, and then dies, he does not inherit from her, for the transaction is sound and the power of divorce ultimately lies with him.