The majority of the jurists from the four madhhabs held that the husband is not obligated to cover the cost of his wife’s medical treatment or medication. Some of them explained this by stating that such expenses are not considered part of her usual essential needs, but rather something incidental.
The reason for this ruling as explained by Dr Wahhab Zuhayli is that medical treatment was not considered a basic need, as people usually did not require frequent care due to their healthy lifestyle.
So this fiqh ruling was based on the norms of their time. But today, the need for treatment is like, or even greater than, the need for food, because a sick person often prefers treatment over anything else. Can someone eat while suffering pain and affliction that might even threaten their life?
Question 3 from Fatwa No. 3591
Question:
Is the husband required to treat his wife if she becomes ill and to pay for her medical expenses, just as he is required to provide for her maintenance and clothing? Is there any clear proof for this in the Sharia, whether a verse from the Qur’an or an authentic hadith?
Answer: There is a difference of opinion among the jurists regarding whether the husband is obliged to cover the costs of his wife’s medical treatment if she becomes ill. Some of them regarded this as similar to her clothing and food, and therefore obligatory. Others held that it is not obligatory upon him, and this is the correct view. However, undertaking this is from noble character and from good companionship.
Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) said in al-Mughni: It is not obligatory upon the husband to purchase medicines or to pay the fee of a doctor, because this is intended to restore the body, so it is not binding upon him, just as a tenant is not required to rebuild what collapses from a house or to preserve its foundations. Likewise, he is not required to pay the wage of a cupper or one who performs bloodletting.
Member: Abdullah ibn Ghudayyan
Vice President: Abd al-Razzaq Afifi
President: Abd al-Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Question 2 from Fatwa No. 21587
Question: Is treating one’s wife obligatory upon the husband, like maintenance, or not?
Answer: A man’s treatment of his wife is from living with her in kindness and from the excellence that Allah has commanded in His saying:
“And do good; indeed, Allah loves those who do good.” (Al-Baqarah 2:195)
Member: Bakr ibn Abdullah Abu Zayd
President: Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan
Abd al-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al al-Shaykh
Question 3 from Fatwa No. 19313
Question: What are the obligations of a man toward a woman?
Answer: It is obligatory upon a man to care for a woman, protect her, and spend upon her, due to the statement of Allah:
“Men are caretakers of women because Allah has given some of them advantage over others and because they spend from their wealth.” (An-Nisa 4:34)
And Allah grants success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his family, and his Companions.
Member: Umar
President: Bakr ibn Abdullah Abu Zayd
Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan
Abd al-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al al-Shaykh
Abd al-Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
Fatāwā al-Lajnah al-Dāʾimah li-al-Buḥūth al-ʿIlmiyyah wa-al-Iftāʾ (19/260–262)
Some contemporary scholars have held the opinion that the husband is obligated to cover his wife’s medical expenses, as part of living with her in kindness (muʿāsharah bi al-maʿrūf), and because the need for medicine today is no less than the need for food and drink.
Dr. Wahbah al-Zuhayli (d. 1436 AH) said: “The scholars of the four madhhabs ruled that the husband is not obligated to pay the cost of his wife’s medical treatment, such as the fee for a doctor, cupping practitioner, blood-letter, or medicine. Instead, the cost is paid from her own wealth if she has any. If she does not, then it becomes obligatory upon those who are responsible for supporting her [like her son, father, or other inheriting relatives.
This is because medical treatment is to preserve the body itself, and what benefits from it is the woman herself, not the husband. It is like repairs to a rented house — they are the owner’s duty, not the tenant’s.
However, it appears to me that in earlier times, medical treatment was not considered a basic need, as people usually did not require frequent care due to their healthy lifestyle. So the jurists’ rulings were based on the norms of their time. But today, the need for treatment is like — or even greater than, the need for food, because a sick person often prefers treatment over anything else. Can someone eat while suffering pain and affliction that might even threaten their life?
Therefore, I believe that the cost of medical treatment should be considered one of the husband’s essential financial obligations, just like food and housing. Is it reasonable that the husband benefits from his wife while she is healthy, but then sends her back to her family to be treated when she is ill?”
Al-Fiqh al-Islami wa Adillatuhu, (7/794-795)
Shaykh Hamad ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Hamad, in his Sharh Zād al-Mustaqniʿ, (25/49) said:
والقول الثاني في المسألة وهو قول في المذهب: وجوب ذلك على الزوج، وهو ظاهر.
وقد قال تعالى: ((ولهن مثل الذي عليهن بالمعروف)) .
