Does the wife have the right to demand financial compensation from the husband for breastfeeding their children?

Scholars have differed regarding a wife's entitlement to payment for breastfeeding her children. Imam Ahmad held that payment is obligatory in all cases, based on the Almighty's saying: "So if they breastfeed for you, give them their payment."

The correct view is that a wife is not entitled to payment for breastfeeding as long as she is under her husband's marital authority, because breastfeeding is obligatory for her, and she is only entitled to maintenance. This is based on the Almighty's saying: "Mothers shall breastfeed their children for two whole years, for those who wish to complete the nursing. And upon the father is their provision and their clothing according to what is reasonable."

As for the divorced woman, she has the right to demand payment for breastfeeding, because the verse concerning divorce ("So if they breastfeed for you, give them their payment") is specific to divorced women. This is the view of Imam Abu Hanifa, and it was chosen by Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn 'Uthaymeen. They hold that breastfeeding is obligatory for the mother as long as she is with the husband, and she is not entitled to additional payment beyond her maintenance and clothing, whereas she is entitled to payment if she is irrevocably divorced from him.