The Criterion for a Wife’s Money for Living Expenses

Undoubtedly, a part of a family’s health and endurance depends on family members' sharing work and responsibilities. Based on religious decrees and established laws, the husband is responsible for supporting the family, including the wife’s. However, there are different views among experts about the quantity and quality of items of obligatory alimony. The reason for this disagreement. The cause of these discrepancy is the uncertainty of the criteria that determines the amount of the. The main question is: "What is the criterion for determining the amount of money for living expenses for the wife?" Some consider it to be the wife's needs based on situation (time and place) as the determining factor of the. Most Shi'ite jurists have considered the social status of the wife as the determining criterion. They believe that the social status of the wife's family must be taken into account even though it might be beyond the wife's current needs or beyond what the husband can afford. Some Shi'ite and Sunni jurists hold the view that the amount and quality of money for living expenses must be set on the basis of the social status of both the husband and the wife. Having examined these different viewpoints and reasons behind them, the present authors have come to the conclusion that the social and financial status of the husband can be considered as the criterion for determining the amount and quality of wife's costs of living, even if it is beyond her status. This view can be effective in dealing with and resolving family disputes.