Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
In Islam, the responsibility for household expenses primarily falls on the husband. However, if a wife agrees to share expenses as part of the marriage contract, she is bound by that condition. Otherwise, her earnings remain solely hers, and she is not obligated to contribute financially. Nonetheless, mutual understanding and consultation are encouraged to maintain harmony in the marriage. If disagreements arise, referring to Islamic legal authorities can help resolve financial disputes.
Answering this question, `Abd al-`Aziz Ibn Baz, the late Mufti of Saudi Arabia, said:
The Role of Mutual Consultation in Household Expenses
The issue of sharing the household expenses should be settled by mutual consultation and consent. It should not be a matter of dispute.
Are Working Wives Islamically Obligated to Share Expenses?
However, if we are to talk about what is obligatory, then we have to discuss it in detail:
If the husband has stipulated in the marriage contract that expenses are to be shared or else he will not let his wife work, then Muslims are bound by their conditions, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: โMuslims are bound by their conditions, except for conditions which forbid something that is permitted or permit something that is forbidden.โ (At-Tirmidhi)
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: โThe conditions which are most deserving to be fulfilled are those by means of which sexual intimacy becomes permissible for you.โ (Al-Bukhari)
Hence, the wife becomes bound by this condition.
When the Household Expenses Are the Husbandโs Sole Responsibility
If the wife has not made any condition, the household expenses are all the responsibility of the husband and the wife does not have to pay any of the household expenses. Allah says: [Let the rich man spend according to his means.} (At-Talaq 65:7)
Muawiyah al-Qushayri narrated: I went to the Messenger of Allah and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Abu Dawud)
So, managing the expenses of the household is the duty of the husband. He is the one who has to take care of the needs of the household, his own, and those of his wife and children. The wifeโs money and salary belong to her alone in return for her work and her efforts, because the husband concluded the marriage contract on that basis, and he did not stipulate any condition that she should share in the household expenses โ unless she gives away a part of her salary out of her own good pleasure. Allah said: {But if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it, and enjoy it without fear of any harm.} (An-Nisaa 4:4)
Should a Wife Contribute to Household Expenses Voluntarily?
However, we advise the wife to give away part of her salary to her husband in order to please him, resolve the dispute and solve the problem, so that they may live in peace and harmony.
So, both of you should agree upon something, such as half of the salary, or one-third, or one-quarter, etc., to be given for the husband and thus, the problem will be solved, and love and harmony will take the place of conflict.
Perhaps he will be content with what Allah has decreed for him and will spend according to his means forgetting all about your salary. However, if this is not possible, then there is no reason why you should not refer the matter to a Shari`ah court and whatever it decides will be sufficient.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editorโs note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholarโs archive and was originally published at an earlier date.
Source: www.islamqa.info