Q. What percentage of her husband’s salary, income or property is a woman entitled to get? What are her other rights?
S. Zaidi
A. Islam treats both man and woman on equal basis. Both have the right of ownership, and what each of them owns remains his or her own property, without having to share any of it with the other. This applies to any property, whether gifted, inherited or received as income. Thus, if a wife inherits millions from her father, while her husband depends on a modest salary constituting all that he has, he cannot take a single riyal from her except by her free consent. The same applies in reverse. A woman has no right to share any part of her husband’s property or income. It is all his own. However, she is entitled to be housed and looked after in a reasonable and fair manner, depending on her husband’s means. The husband pays for all her reasonable needs, but she shares nothing of his property, in the same way as he shares nothing of hers, despite the fact that she is entitled to be looked after while he has no similar claim on her. Indeed, when a woman is much richer than her husband, she is not called upon to pay for any family expenses, not even her own. Whether a woman is rich or has nothing, she is entitled to all her living expenses, in fair and reasonable manner, according to her husband’s means.
Thus, we cannot say that a woman is entitled to this or that percentage of her husband’s income or salary. It is true that a woman does a great deal in her family home. If the husband needs to buy the services his wife does at home, he would have to pay a heavy price for it. But this also works in reverse. A woman gets much that is invaluable from her husband. Therefore, they both need to look after each other properly.