Is the mother's maintenance obligatory only for the male children, or does it include the daughters as well, or do the daughters have the right to choose whether to spend on her?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If a mother is in need, her maintenance is obligatory upon her affluent children by consensus. Scholars differed on how to distribute this maintenance among male and female children. Some said it should be distributed in thirds, like inheritance; some said equally; and some said it is only incumbent upon the son. The preponderant opinion is that maintenance should be distributed among male and female children according to their financial capacity. Spending on one's mother is among the best acts of drawing closer to Allah.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/120324
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 120324
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy