When is a wife entitled to marital maintenance: Is it from the date of the marriage contract or from the date of consummation, knowing that she did not prevent herself from him and the valid seclusion took place?

The maintenance of the wife is obligatory upon her husband by the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of Muslims. Maintenance becomes obligatory from the moment the wife enables her husband to fully enjoy her. If she does not enable him to fully enjoy her without a legitimate excuse, then maintenance is not obligatory for her. The occurrence of seclusion does not mean that she has not prevented herself from the husband; she might allow him seclusion without consummation, in which case maintenance is not obligatory for her. However, if the wife fully enables her husband and he refrains from enjoying her, then he is obligated to provide her maintenance.