Is the stepmother's maintenance obligatory upon the children after the death of their father, especially since she took her inheritance and went to her family's home to complete her 'iddah due to a dispute with one of the children?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If a man dies, the responsibility for the financial maintenance of those he supported ceases. Thus, the maintenance of the father's wife is not obligatory upon his sons after his death, due to the absence of any of the three causes of maintenance: marriage (), kinship, or ownership. Therefore, her maintenance falls upon her closest blood relatives. Nevertheless, it is recommended for the sons to treat their father's wife kindly as an act of dutifulness towards their father. It was also obligatory for a wife whose husband died not to leave his house until her waiting period () expired, unless her departure was under duress.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/7936
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- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 7936
- 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