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What is the academic degree considered valid in the condition of the wife completing her university education until obtaining her first academic degree—is it a bachelor's degree or a diploma? And is it permissible for the husband, according to Sharia, to reclaim the money he spent on his wife's education after their divorce, given that he fulfilled the condition of education and the divorce occurred after the legal consummation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the condition "first academic degree" is not specified, then the prevailing custom between the spouses is the criterion, as Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Indeed, the unrestricted (or absolute) in contracts refers to the custom and practice among the contracting parties." The default is that the husband is not obligated to pay for his wife's university education, and if he voluntarily pays for it, he cannot demand its reimbursement after divorce.

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

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