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What is the ruling, Islamically and legally, on obligating a husband to pay for the medical treatment of his sick wife?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A Muslim is obligated to follow the rulings of the Sharia, not conflicting man-made laws. The cost of medicine and the doctor's fee are not obligatory for the husband to pay for his wife, nor are they included in the obligatory maintenance according to the agreement of the four schools of thought, except for the midwife's fee, on which they differed. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis obligate the husband to pay the midwife's fee, while the Hanafis said it is on whoever hired her. The Malikis said it is on the husband. It is befitting for the husband to treat his wife if he is able and she has no money, because it is an act of kindness and good companionship.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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