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:

Assalamu Aliakkum Dear Brother,

My Question:

" Since i also earn is it right to combine my husband`s and my salary and do our financing or should i keep my salary separate for my personal use only"

Please answer in the light of Quran and Sunnah.Thank you.

Best Regards

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

The earnings of 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.

Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, Islam has laid the complete financial responsibility of running a family and household on the shoulders of the men; and it is entirely the responsibility of the men in Islam to spend of their lawfully earned wealth on the upkeep of their family and their household.

The believing woman is well within her rights to work and earn in Islam; she is entitled to and is the sole owner of the wealth she has earned or belongs to her; and she is well within her rights to spend her own wealth wherever she wills and pleases. She may save all or part of her wealth, she may spend all or part of it, she may give all or part of it in charity, she may gift all or part of it to her friends or her family or her loved ones, etc…..basically she is the sole owner and master of the wealth she earns and owns, and she may spend of her wealth wherever she wills and pleases.

The husband has absolutely no right over the wealth of his wife in Islam, nor does he have a right to demand that some of the expenses of running or maintaining the household be spent from the wealth that is owned solely by his wife. Even if the wife is a millionaire and the husband a pauper, it will still remain the duty and the responsibility of the husband in Islam to bear the financial burden of running the household.

But if the believing woman who earns or has her own wealth, of her own free will, wishes to bear a part of her husband’s financial burden and spend of her own wealth or earnings on maintaining or running the household, there is absolutely no harm. In such a situation, the husband should appreciate the generous gesture and ‘ehsaan’ (an act done over and above one’s role or duty) of his wife.

Thus in conclusion sister, although there is absolutely no obligation upon the believing woman in Shariah to spend of her own wealth on running or maintaining the household, if of her own free will she wishes to help bear a part of her husband’s financial burden, she is well within her rights 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