Financial Issues Between Husband And Wife

[ummtaalib]

According to
Shariah, the husband has to maintain the wife whether she has wealth or not. We
 will be discussing the following points:
 

• Does the husband have a right to know
  the wife’s wealth.
• Does she have to seek her husband’s permission in administrating her financial issues.

 

The
relationship between the husband and wife is unique. It is a legal bond
submerged with intense love. The implications of a legal issue are different
from the implications of a love issue.

In legal
issues there are rules and regulations that govern the issues. In love, rules
are broken.

According to
Shariah if a wife owns wealth, she is totally independent in her wealth. She
can administer her financial issues as she wants. The husband has no right over
her financial issues. He should respect the right Shariah has granted to her.
She can buy, sell, loan, and deal in her wealth in such a way that it does not
infringe the rights of the husband.

When the
husband regulates his financial issues, and he does not tell his wife about his
financial issues, he expects her to respect his right. If she questions him on
his wealth, he does not have to divulge information to her. If he buys or sells
or does anything, he can conceal all that from his wife. The wife should
respect that. Likewise if she conceals her financial issues from him, he too
should respect that.

 

Flexibility:

 

Money can
become a bone of contention in a marriage. A husband and wife should not live
like adversaries in a boxing ring. All the time fighting on financial issues.

 

In marriage,
often laws are broken to maintain love and harmony.

 

On one side
we have the example of Hazrat Sara the wife of Ebrahim(a.s).She owned Hazrat
Hajra, but she gave Hajra as a gift to Ebrahim(a.s).

 

On the other
hand we have the wife of Rasulullah Sallallāhu Alayhi Wasallam Hazrat Khadija
(r.a). She was very rich and wealthy. She gave her wealth to Rasulullah
Sallallāhu Alayhi Wasallam. Allah says:

 

وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَى (سورة الضحى آية 8)

 

And He found you poor and made [you] financially rich.

 

This was
through the wealth of Hazrat Khadija (r.a).

 

It is because
of this flexibility between the spouses, it is not permissible for the husband
to give zakat to his wife and vice versa. The wife cannot give her zakat to her
husband. It is very possible, she herself will give her zakat to her husband,
and she will end up using the same money she gave her husband.
 

Mufti
Ebrahim  Desai

Ideal Woman