Dar al-Iftaa reveals ruling on if women are required to spend salary on household

Egypt’s Dar al-Iftaa has ruled that a wife’s financial independence is separate from her husband’s, granting her the right to own and dispose of her own money and salary. This decision, issued by former Grand Mufti Nasr Farid Wasel on March 4, 1997, was in response to a query about a working wife spending her earnings on the marital home.

The fatwa clarified that Islam’s financial system between spouses is grounded in individual financial autonomy. Consequently, a wife possesses the legal ability to own property, engage in contracts, and assume financial obligations independently of her husband. Islamic Sharia mandates that a husband must provide for his wife’s needs, including food, clothing, shelter, domestic help, furnishings, bedding, and other household items, in accordance with customary practices.

The fatwa emphasized that if a wife contributes to household expenses using her salary, this must be done with her full consent and free will. The essential principle is cooperation between spouses in bearing the burdens of life, each contributing what they are willing to give from their own resources, without either party compelling the other to relinquish their wealth or salary.