Back to search

Is a working wife obligated to spend on the household and assist her husband if he experiences a financial crisis, and what is the ruling if she does not do so?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The maintenance of children and wife is obligatory upon the capable man. Maintenance is not obligatory upon the wife, even if she is wealthy, due to the Almighty's saying: "And upon the father is their provision and their clothing according to what is reasonable," and due to the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying to Hind: "Take what suffices you and your child according to what is reasonable." If the husband becomes insolvent, the capable mother should spend on her children and can seek reimbursement from the husband when he becomes solvent. If she does not seek reimbursement and is content with that, she will be rewarded.

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

Read the full answer on Ftawy