Spouse rights: marriage questions answered by scholars

Questions and answers

• Can a husband require his wife to observe hijab, including the niqab?

  A questioner asked whether a husband may force his wife to wear the burqa and niqab. Mufti Ebrahim Desai answered that Shariah makes the husband the guardian of his wife and requires a guardian to prevent his dependants from breaking religious rules, so a husband must see that his wife keeps the rules of hijab in front of non-mahram men. He relied on the verse about the believers' women drawing down their outer garments and the verse about protecting oneself and one's family from the Fire. The respected mufti added that the husband should be wise and diplomatic, using effective means to help her understand, and that advice about Shariah should be received without emotion. The answer is about the husband's responsibility only; it does not set out the details of the face veil.

  Answered by Mufti Ebrahim Desai, Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah·Fatwa #37474·Summarised on Nikkup 21 October 2026

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• Is a husband obliged to give his wife the same food, drink and clothing that he has himself?

  The asker wanted to know whether the Shariah requires a husband to provide his wife with the same food, drink and clothing that he himself uses. Mufti Abu-Muhammad Ali Asghar Attari Madani answered that the husband owes her food, clothing and housing, but not everything he personally enjoys. The standard follows the couple's circumstances: suited to their wealth if both are well-off, to what poorer people normally use if both are poor, and of an average level if one is rich and the other poor. The respected mufti added that it is recommended, though not obligatory, for a husband to share his own food, especially a wealthy husband with a poor wife, since Islam asks for good treatment of wives. He relies on hadith about spending on one's wife and on Hanafi fiqh works.

  Answered by Mufti Abu-Muhammad Ali Asghar Attari Madani, Dar-ul-Ifta Ahl-e-Sunnat (Dawat-e-Islami)·Fatwa #Gul-2435·Summarised on Nikkup 20 October 2026

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• Does a man need his first wife's permission before marrying a second wife?

  The asker wanted to know whether the Shariah requires a man to obtain his first wife's permission before a second marriage. Maulana Muhammad Naveed Chishti Attari Madani answered that it is not required by the Shariah for him to take her permission. He added that seeking it is advisable to avoid legal complications, and that a second marriage contracted without it is still valid. The answer rests on the Quranic verse allowing more than one wife on condition of fairness, a hadith warning against favouring one wife, and a statement of Ala Hazrat that permission is not necessary. It does not discuss any legal requirements of a particular country.

  Answered by Maulana Muhammad Naveed Chishti Attari Madani, Dar-ul-Ifta Ahl-e-Sunnat (Dawat-e-Islami)·Fatwa #Pin-7304·Summarised on Nikkup 18 October 2026

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• May a husband use the money his wife earns?

  The asker wanted to know whether a husband may make use of his wife's earnings. Mufti Fuzail Raza Attari answered that whatever a woman owns, whether inherited, received as mahr or as a gift, or earned by herself, remains hers, and her husband may not use it without her permission, which may be given outright or understood from the couple's usual arrangement. Her earnings can pay for household items with her approval, and he may then benefit from them. The respected mufti also listed five conditions for a woman's work, covering proper covering, modest clothing, not being alone with a non-mahram man, and safety at work and on the way; the answer says that lacking any one of them makes the work impermissible.

  Answered by Mufti Fuzail Raza Attari, Dar-ul-Ifta Ahl-e-Sunnat (Dawat-e-Islami)·Summarised on Nikkup 14 October 2026

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