Are the parents' funds that were spent on education considered a debt that must be repaid after marriage and childbirth, especially if the parents demand it and their demand has caused tension in the relationship?
What parents spend on their children, whether it is obligatory or recommended maintenance, is not considered a debt upon the children. Parents are obligated to provide for their poor children. According to the Hanbalis, maintenance is obligatory for a poor son even if he is capable of earning, while for the majority of scholars, maintenance is obligatory for a daughter until she marries. Maintenance includes: food, drink, housing, medicine, and education. If the expenditure was a recommended gift, the parents cannot retract it once it has been spent. However, if the parents explicitly state that what they spent is a debt and the child agrees to it, and the education was not essential, then it becomes a debt that must be repaid.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- 191681
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- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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