💰 Family finances · #63
The wife's parents are ill and need money for treatment. Is the husband obliged to pay?
He is not legally obliged; the duty to maintain parents lies with their own children, including the wife if she has the means. Still, helping one's parents-in-law is a very noble kindness.
Allah commands kindness to parents and relatives (an-Nisa' 4:36), and each child carries responsibility for their own parents (al-Isra' 17:23–24). A wife with her own income may use it for her parents without needing her husband's permission. A husband who helps his parents-in-law increases love in the family and earns the reward of keeping family ties. Practical steps: discuss among the wife's siblings how to share the cost fairly; check eligibility for treatment at government hospitals, help from the zakat centre and the Social Welfare Department; and check the parents' takaful policies if any. Do not let the question of cost become a source of quarrels between husband and wife while the family is being tested. See Maintenance of parents.
Allah commands kindness to parents and relatives (an-Nisa' 4:36), and each child carries responsibility for their own parents (al-Isra' 17:23–24). A wife with her own income may use it for her parents without needing her husband's permission. A husband who helps his parents-in-law increases love in the family and earns the reward of keeping family ties. Practical steps: discuss among the wife's siblings how to share the cost fairly; check eligibility for treatment at government hospitals, help from the zakat centre and the Social Welfare Department; and check the parents' takaful policies if any. Do not let the question of cost become a source of quarrels between husband and wife while the family is being tested. See Maintenance of parents.
Sources
Surah an-Nisa' 4:36Surah al-Isra' 17:23Surah al-Baqarah 2:215