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Obligatory Maintenance

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Template:Fiqh rulings Template:Descriptive fiqh article Al-Wajib al-Nafaqah (The one entitled to maintenance) refers to a person whom, according to religious law or civil legislation, another individual is obligated to provide for their customary living expenses, such as food, clothing, housing, and other essential needs. In Imami jurisprudence, the obligation of maintenance is established on three grounds: marriage, kinship, and ownership (specifically, the obligation of a master to maintain his slave). The most prominent examples include a permanent wife, parents, and children.

The maintenance of a woman is conditional upon the fulfillment of certain requirements, such as Tamkin (wifely obedience/compliance), and is forfeited in cases such as Nushuz (wifely disobedience), although it remains in effect in certain situations, such as the woman's illness or the waiting period ('Iddah) of a revocable divorce. Regarding the maintenance of relatives, such as parents and children, the need of the person entitled to maintenance and the financial capability of the provider (after providing for themselves and their spouse) are conditions for the obligation.

Furthermore, Islamic law does not prescribe a fixed amount for maintenance; rather, it is determined based on customary needs and is proportional to the individual's status, as well as the customs of the time and place.


Conceptualization and Status

Al-Wajib al-Nafaqah refers to a person who, according to a ruling of religious law or civil legislation, is entitled to have their maintenance provided by another.[1] Maintenance includes customary needs appropriate to the person's status, including food, clothing, housing, essential furnishings, medical expenses, and other customary life necessities.[2]

Thus, al-Wajib al-Nafaqah is an attribute indicating the right to receive maintenance, whereas the person responsible for paying it is called the "Munfiq" (the provider).[3] Rulings regarding Nafqah (maintenance) and al-Wajib al-Nafaqah have been discussed in detail in the chapter on Nikah (marriage) and incidentally in chapters such as Zakat, Khums, Hajj, Rahn (mortgage), and Talaq (divorce).[4]

The Civil Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran also includes laws related to maintenance and individuals entitled to maintenance within various legal articles.[5]


Examples of Al-Wajib al-Nafqah

According to the author of *Jawahir al-Kalam*, based on mutawatir (widely transmitted) narrations and the consensus of Shia jurists, maintenance becomes obligatory for one of three reasons: marriage, kinship, and ownership (the obligation of a master to maintain his slave).[6] Accordingly, according to jurists, those entitled to maintenance fall into three categories:

Permanent Wife

The maintenance of a permanent wife is obligatory on her husband.[7] and also a temporary wife who has stipulated maintenance as a condition at the time of contracting the marriage.[8] According to jurists, the obligation of maintenance is forfeited due to the woman's Nushuz (disobedience) or apostasy.[9] It is also stated that a minor wife who is not capable of sexual benefit is not entitled to maintenance from her husband; especially if the husband is also a minor and lacks the capacity for sexual gratification. Furthermore, an adult woman does not have the right to maintenance if her husband is a minor and lacks the capacity to derive sexual benefit from her.[10]

According to jurists, if the woman is ill and intercourse is impossible due to conditions such as the presence of flesh or bone in the farj (vagina) that obstructs intercourse, her right to maintenance is not forfeited.[11]

According to jurists, the maintenance of a woman in the Iddah (waiting period) of a revocable divorce remains the same as that of a permanent wife as long as she is in the Iddah, with no difference between a pregnant and a non-pregnant woman in this ruling. However, if the woman was in a state of Nushuz at the time of the revocable divorce, she will not be entitled to maintenance like a disobedient woman; but if she returns to compliance during the Iddah, her maintenance becomes obligatory.[12]

A woman in the Iddah of an irrevocable divorce, whether arising from divorce or annulment of marriage, is not entitled to maintenance or housing, unless the irrevocable Iddah arises from divorce and the woman is pregnant, in which case she is entitled to maintenance until the time of childbirth.[13]

Parents

The maintenance of parents, as well as their ancestors (such as grandparents), is obligatory on children who have the financial means.[14] The maintenance of poor parents is obligatory on both sons and daughters, with no distinction between them.[15]

Children

According to the predominant opinion of jurists,[16] the maintenance of children is obligatory on their father and paternal grandfathers, in the order of their proximity. Thus, the "father" takes precedence over the "grandfather," and the "grandfather" takes precedence over the "paternal grandfather." If none of them exist, are unable, or fail to fulfill their duty, it becomes obligatory on the "mother." If the mother does not exist, is unable, or fails to pay, it becomes obligatory jointly and equally on the "paternal grandmother" and "maternal grandmother." [17]

Conditions for the Obligation of Nafaqah

Some of the conditions for the obligation of nafaqah and other related rulings are as follows:

  • In the obligation of nafaqah for relatives such as parents and offspring, poverty and neediness of the relative is a condition; meaning that they must not currently possess wealth to cover their living expenses. Therefore, spending is not obligatory on someone who currently has the ability to cover their own expenses, even if they are considered poor and do not have the cost of one year's expenses at their disposal, and thus can receive zakat and similar payments.[18]
  • If a person capable of providing obligatory nafaqah refuses to do so, the religious judge will compel them to pay it. If this is not possible, the religious judge will deduct the amount from their property and provide for their living expenses.[19]
  • In the obligation of nafaqah for relatives, it is a condition that the provider, after covering their own nafaqah and the nafaqah of their permanent spouse (if they have one), has the financial capacity to pay for the relative's nafaqah. Thus, if the wealth at their disposal is only sufficient to cover their own expenses, they spend that amount on themselves, and the obligation of nafaqah for relatives does not fall upon them.[20] If, after covering their own expenses, some of their wealth remains and they have a spouse, that remaining amount is first used for the spouse's nafaqah, and if anything remains after that, it is used to provide nafaqah for parents and children.[21]
  • Other relatives such as brothers, sisters, paternal uncles, paternal aunts, maternal uncles, maternal aunts, and their offspring are not obligatory recipients of nafaqah, but it is recommended to provide for them if they are in need and the person has the ability to do so.[22]
  • According to the opinion of some jurists, the provider cannot pay the nafaqah of obligatory recipients from their own zakat, khums, or expiations.[23]
  • Nafaqah does not have a fixed and specific amount according to religious law; rather, the criterion is providing whatever the woman needs, such as food, clothing and cover, housing, a servant, and tools and utensils necessary for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and other needs.[24]


Footnotes

Template:پانویس


References

  • Ahmadi, Mohsen, "The Importance of Examining Nafaqah of Relatives," Humanities and Islamic Sciences in the Third Millennium, No. 2, Spring 1403 SH.
  • Ahmadoor Qadikelayi, Samiyeh, "Examining the Amount and Order of Obligation of Nafaqah," Research and Studies in Islamic Sciences, No. 67, Bahman 1403 SH.
  • Imam Khomeini, Sayyid Ruhollah, Tahrir al-Wasila, Tehran, Institute for Editing and Publishing Imam Khomeini's Works, n.d.
  • A group of authors, Dictionary of Jurisprudence in Accordance with the School of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), Qom, Dā'irat al-Ma'ārif al-Fiqh al-Fārsī Institute, 1387 SH.
  • Shahid al-Thani, Zayn al-Din ibn Ali, Al-Rawḍat al-Bahiyya fī Sharḥ al-Lum'a al-Dimashqiyya, annotated and researched by Sayyid Muhammad Kalantar, Qom, Davari Publications, 1410 AH.
  • "Civil Law", website of the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, accessed on 12 Shahrivar 1405 SH.
  • Makarem Shirazi, Naser, New Fatwas, Qom, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) School, 1427 AH.
  • Montazeri, Hossein-Ali, Risalat al-Tawdih al-Masal, Tehran, Sarāy Publications, 1381 SH.
  • Najafi, Muhammad Hasan, Jawāhir al-Kalām, Beirut, Dār Iḥyā' al-Turāth al-'Arabī, 1362 SH.

Template:احکام خانواده

  1. ↑ Muntazari, Risalat Tawzih al-Masail, 1381 SH, p. 484; Ahmadi, "The Importance of Investigating the Maintenance of Relatives," p. 462; Ahmadpour Qadi Kalayi, "Investigation of the Amount and Order of Maintenance Obligation," p. 39.
  2. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Vol. 2, pp. 299-300.
  3. ↑ Ahmadi, "The Importance of Investigating the Maintenance of Relatives," p. 462; Ahmadpour Qadi Kalayi, "Investigation of the Amount and Order of Maintenance Obligation," p. 39.
  4. ↑ A group of authors, Fiqh Dictionary according to the School of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS), 1387 SH, Vol. 8, p. 586.
  5. ↑ "Civil Code," website of the Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.
  6. ↑ Najafi, Jawahir al-Kalam, 1362 SH, Vol. 31, p. 301.
  7. ↑ Najafi, Jawahir al-Kalam, 1362 SH, Vol. 31, p. 303; Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 298.
  8. ↑ Muntazari, Tawzih al-Masail, 1381 SH, p. 484.
  9. ↑ Najafi, Jawahir al-Kalam, 1362 SH, Vol. 31, p. 303; Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 298.
  10. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 298.
  11. ↑ Bahrani, Al-Hada'iq al-Nadirah, Vol. 25, pp. 105-107; Najafi, Jawahir al-Kalam, 1362 SH, Vol. 31, pp. 312-313.
  12. ↑ Shahid al-Thani, Al-Rawdat al-Bahiyya fi Sharh al-Lum'a al-Dimashqiyya, 1410 AH, Vol. 6, p. 73; Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 299.
  13. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 299.
  14. ↑ Najafi, Jawahir al-Kalam, 1362 SH, Vol. 31, p. 366; Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 304.
  15. ↑ Makarem Shirazi, Istifta'at Jadid, 1427 AH, Vol. 2, p. 299.
  16. ↑ Muntazari, Risalat Tawzih al-Masail, 1381 SH, p. 484.
  17. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for the Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 304; Muntazari, Risalat Tawzih al-Masail, 1381 SH, p. 484.
  18. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for Editing and Publishing Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 304.
  19. ↑ Montazeri, Risalat al-Tawdih al-Masal, 1381 SH, p. 485.
  20. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for Editing and Publishing Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 305.
  21. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for Editing and Publishing Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 305.
  22. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for Editing and Publishing Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 304; Montazeri, Risalat al-Tawdih al-Masal, 1381 SH, p. 484.
  23. ↑ Montazeri, Risalat al-Tawdih al-Masal, 1381 SH, p. 485.
  24. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Tahrir al-Wasila, Institute for Editing and Publishing Imam Khomeini's Works, Vol. 2, p. 299.
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