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Is it permissible for a married working woman to dispose of her private income without her husband's permission or knowledge, even if these dispositions are for permissible matters such as helping relatives?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A woman has the right to dispose of all her wealth, whether it be salary or property, as long as she is free, mature, and within the permissible limits. If it is used for acts of worship and obedience, it is even more preferable. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded women to give charity and accepted their donations without asking for permission from their guardians. This is the view of the majority of jurists. Nevertheless, it is advised not to dispose of wealth in a way that would anger the husband or cause problems, bearing in mind that some scholars, such as Imam Malik, believe that a wife does not have the right to dispose of more than one-third of her wealth without her husband's permission. It is good companionship to seek the husband's permission, and those who have the primary right to a woman's charity are her husband, children, and closest relatives. If you wish to help relatives and see that this would anger your husband, there is no harm in concealing it from him.

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

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