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Is the husband obligated to provide for his wife who works and has a high income, and buys luxuries, while the husband provides for the household and the daughter's needs, and he has debts, and his salary is not enough to cover his personal expenses?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The Shari'a has granted the husband guardianship (qawamah), and he has the right to obedience in what is good. If disobedience (nushooz), arrogance, and insubordination from the wife are established, the husband should follow the steps for treating nushooz. If the wife persists in her disobedience, he has the right to divorce her. The wife's maintenance is obligatory upon the husband, even if she is wealthy. The husband should spend from what Allah has given him, without extravagance or stinginess. What the wife earns is her exclusive right, and she is not obliged to spend from it except willingly, unless the husband stipulated that his wife contribute to household expenses in return for his permission for her to work, and the wife accepted this condition, in which case she must fulfill it. It is permissible for the wife to spend from her money without extravagance; if she is extravagant, she should be advised and reminded of Allah. The wife's service in her husband's house is obligatory according to custom. A woman is not permitted to travel except with her husband or a mahram.

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

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