Is the wife obligated to perform household chores such as cooking and cleaning? And is obedience to her husband obligatory upon her in matters that do not involve disobedience (to God)? And what if her husband orders her to cook and clean, does it then become obligatory upon her?
Scholars differed concerning the ruling on a wife serving her husband, and the preponderant opinion is that it is obligatory. They agreed on the obligation for a wife to obey her husband in what is good and permissible, but they differed on the limits of this obedience. Some of them obligated obedience in everything that does not involve disobedience to Allah, while others restricted this to matters of marriage and its related aspects. According to the first opinion, she must obey him if he orders her to cook and clean. According to the second opinion, she is not obligated, but service is obligatory according to those who hold that service is obligatory. If the wife is of high social standing, some jurists obligated the husband to provide her with a servant.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/155232