Spousal Support to the Husband
Question
Title: Spousal Support to the Husband Question: In a divorce, does the husband have the right to ask for and get spousal support from the wife? What does Islam say about a man who does this? Also, if one of the two in a marriage has to take a second job to meet the household obligations, should it be the husband, the wife, or both? What do you tell a man that does not help the wife in the house since both have to work (the wife has a second part-time job)? Victoria Khatib United States of America Answer: The Islamic Shari`ah has expressly put the responsibility of providing for the household on the husband. The wife may voluntarily share in the husband's responsibility of providing for the household, but she cannot be forced into doing so. As an extension of the foregoing, a husband cannot ask for spousal support from his ex-wife. You ask: What does Islam say about a man who does this? According to my understanding, such an act would be considered extremely disgraceful, in the least, by the Islamic Shari`ah . A Muslim state, in my opinion, would not even entertain such a request of the husband. You ask: ... if one of the two in a marriage has to take a second job to meet the household obligations, should it be the husband, the wife, or both? As I have stated earlier, a wife cannot be forced into taking even a first job. The wife may voluntarily agree upon taking a job to share the husband's responsibility of providing for the household. You ask: What do you tell a man that does not help the wife in the house since both have to work (the wife has a second part-time job)? If the husband is not in a position to adequately provide for the household and the wife has dealt with the situation in a graceful and compromising manner, then it would only be befitting for the husband to respond in an equally graceful manner by extending all possible help to the wife in her household chores. A healthy and long-term relationship cannot be built upon the sacrifices of only one of the parties to that relationship. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad May 15, 2003
Answer
Title: Spousal Support to the Husband Question: In a divorce, does the husband have the right to ask for and get spousal support from the wife? What does Islam say about a man who does this? Also, if one of the two in a marriage has to take a second job to meet the household obligations, should it be the husband, the wife, or both? What do you tell a man that does not help the wife in the house since both have to work (the wife has a second part-time job)? Victoria Khatib United States of America Answer: The Islamic Shari`ah has expressly put the responsibility of providing for the household on the husband. The wife may voluntarily share in the husband's responsibility of providing for the household, but she cannot be forced into doing so. As an extension of the foregoing, a husband cannot ask for spousal support from his ex-wife. You ask: What does Islam say about a man who does this? According to my understanding, such an act would be considered extremely disgraceful, in the least, by the Islamic Shari`ah . A Muslim state, in my opinion, would not even entertain such a request of the husband. You ask: ... if one of the two in a marriage has to take a second job to meet the household obligations, should it be the husband, the wife, or both? As I have stated earlier, a wife cannot be forced into taking even a first job. The wife may voluntarily agree upon taking a job to share the husband's responsibility of providing for the household. You ask: What do you tell a man that does not help the wife in the house since both have to work (the wife has a second part-time job)? If the husband is not in a position to adequately provide for the household and the wife has dealt with the situation in a graceful and compromising manner, then it would only be befitting for the husband to respond in an equally graceful manner by extending all possible help to the wife in her household chores. A healthy and long-term relationship cannot be built upon the sacrifices of only one of the parties to that relationship. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad May 15, 2003
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