Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salaam alikum Brother Burhan,
I am a married,36year old male,Indian.My wife and my 8month old daughter stay with me here in UAE.My parents are in Bombay( a wish of their own). My earnings are Alhumdulillah good enough that i can take care of them both,Allah has given me as much and more. My wife is DEMANDING a monthly allowance for her expenses(i can afford to give it to her), although i take care of all her neccessities and a little more like her telephone bills etc. Am i depriving her of her HAQQ if i am NOT giving her any amount, cash? Please answer, Jazak Allah- Mumtaz. 

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Answer:

Monthly stripend to wife

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 34:

34 Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given the one more than the other, and because they (the men) support them (their women) from their means.

Islam has ordained and enjoined and declared it a duty upon the men to bear the complete financial upkeep of their women, be it her lodging, her clothing, her food, her medical, her transport, etc. To fulfill and provide for all the lawful needs of a wife is an obligatory duty of the husband in Islam.

The husband is well within his rights to provide for all the expenses himself, or if he so wills, he may give her an appropriate allowance which would fulfill her lawful needs. If the husband fulfills all the lawful needs of the wife, there is no obligation in Shariah upon the husband to provide a ‘monthly allowance’; but it would only be prudent, especially in this day and age, especially if Allah has blessed one with abundance, to provide a reasonable amount as allowance to their wives to fulfill their personal needs so that she does not have to approach her husband for every small matter.

As long as the husband provides for the complete financial upkeep of the house and his family, and for any reason whatsoever does not wish to provide a cash ‘allowance’ to his wife, he is well within his rights in Islam to do so.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan