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:

Assalamalaikum

I am a married women and i have three sister-in laws,all three are happily married and dont have any financials or other problems.one sister -in law is elder than my husband  and two are younger than him. my husband spends so much money on his younger sisters he sends them thousand 's on idd and when ever we go to india he buys what ever they ask him to get infact there is a list of  things to be bought for them .my husband says they are his responsibility . i want to know according to islam how much right do i have on my husbands income as his wife and how much right do my sister in laws have on his income.please answer my question

Allahahfiz

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Answer:

Right of wife on husband’s income

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.

The complete financial upkeep of the wife is the responsibility of the husband in Islam. Thus if one’s husband provides for the complete basic necessities of one’s wife (ie. her shelter, her food, her clothing, etc.), he would be deemed to have fulfilled his financial responsibility in the marriage.

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 support them from their means.

Provided the husband spends on the complete upkeep of the basic necessities of his wife, what he does with his income or wealth is absolutely the decision and right of the husband alone, for he is the inherent owner of his own wealth and is well within his rights to spend it as, when, and where he wills and pleases.

Provided your husband fulfills all his financial obligations towards you in the marriage, he is well within his rights to spend on his sisters or anyone else he wills and pleases! The husband alone is the inherent owner of his own wealth, and other than the fulfillment of her complete basic necessities, the wife has absolutely no legal or moral right on the income or the wealth of her husband in Islam.

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