Feasibility of Denying Spousal Maintenance During the Exercise of the Wife’s Right of Retention: A Critical Analysis of Article 1085 of the Civil Code

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original/ Research Article

Authors
Muhammad Kazem Tavakkoli Eslami 1
Seyyed Mahmoud Halataee 2
1 Ph.D student in Jurisprudence and Principles of Law, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor in Islamic Jurisprudence and Principles of Law, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.30497/flj.2025.246963.2078
Abstract
Introduction
One of the most significant legal effects of marriage in Islamic jurisprudence and the Iranian legal system is the obligation of the husband to provide maintenance (nafaqa) to his wife. At first glance, this obligation is presumed to stem directly from the establishment of the marriage contract (‘aqd al-nikāḥ). However, the role of ta’ah (obedience) or tamkīn (sexual and non-sexual availability) in the obligation of nafaqa has long been a matter of scholarly contention. Article 1085 of the Iranian Civil Code stipulates that a wife may refuse to fulfill her marital duties until her dowry (mahr) has been paid, without losing her right to maintenance. This legal provision is grounded in a jurisprudential view that treats the marriage contract as an independent and sufficient cause for the obligation of maintenance. Proponents of this view—prevalent among contemporary Shi’a jurists (fuqahā-ye mu‘āṣir)—base their position on two main premises: first, that the contract of marriage independently obliges the husband to provide nafaqa, and second, that only disobedience (nushūz)—defined as unjustified refusal—nullifies the wife’s entitlement to nafaqa. However, classical and some later Shi‘a jurists challenge this view, holding that nafaqa is contingent upon both the marriage contract and the wife’s actual compliance with her marital obligations. Thus, even if a wife’s refusal is justified—for instance, due to the legitimate exercise of her right of retention (ḥaqq al-ḥabs)—the obligation of maintenance would still lapse. The present study seeks to critically examine the jurisprudential foundations of these two opposing perspectives and assess the validity of Article 1085 in light of authentic Shi’a jurisprudence.
Literature Review
Numerous studies have addressed issues related to nafaqa, tamkīn, and ḥaqq al-ḥabs, focusing primarily on their legal interpretations, judicial practices, and contractual applications. Key contributions include works by Ghayyāthī Thānī (2017), ‘Aẓīmzāda Ardabīlī (2011), Fattāḥzāda (2012), and Forūtan et al. (2020). These studies often center on the evidentiary challenges and judicial inconsistencies concerning tamkīn or nushūz, but none has specifically engaged in a rigorous jurisprudential analysis of the effect of exercising ḥaqq al-ḥabs on the obligation of maintenance. Thus, this research seeks to fill a significant scholarly gap.
Methodology
This study employs a descriptive-analytical method based on extensive library research. It draws on classical and contemporary Shi’a jurisprudential sources, judicial interpretations, and legal texts. The research unfolds in two stages: the first stage critically evaluates the theory of tamkīn as a condition (sharṭ) for the obligation of maintenance; the second analyzes the theory that the marriage contract is an independent cause (sabab mustaqill) of nafaqa. Both rational and textual arguments—such as sīrah al-mutasharri‘ah (juristic practice), Qur’anic verses (e.g., wa ‘āshirūhunna bil-ma‘rūf), and logical maxims like the impermissibility of obligating in return for an uncertain countervalue (iṣṭiḥālah al-‘iwaḍ al-majhūl)—have been employed in the analysis.
Findings
The critical examination reveals that the theory asserting the independent causality of the marriage contract in obligating nafaqa lacks internal coherence and sufficient jurisprudential grounding. Its reliance on general narrations and broad legal interpretations does not withstand scrutiny when measured against classical jurisprudential principles. In contrast, the view upheld by early and many later Shi‘a jurists—that actual tamkīn is a necessary condition for the obligation of maintenance—is more robustly supported. According to this position, the obligation of nafaqa arises only when both the contract and the wife’s compliance are present. Consequently, even justified non-compliance based on the right of retention (ḥaqq al-ḥabs) leads to the suspension of the husband’s duty to provide maintenance. This is supported by a cumulative reading of scriptural sources, juristic tradition, and logical coherence.
Conclusion
The findings of this research suggest that Article 1085 of the Iranian Civil Code, which affirms the wife’s continued entitlement to nafaqa during the exercise of her ḥaqq al-ḥabs, requires fundamental reconsideration. The prevailing assumption that the contract of marriage independently gives rise to the obligation of nafaqa does not align with the more consistent and well-substantiated view that actual tamkīn is a prerequisite for such an obligation. Therefore, the law must be revised to reflect this jurisprudential reality. Additionally, Article 1102 of the Civil Code—which deems all spousal rights to be established upon conclusion of the contract—should also be qualified to exclude nafaqa in the absence of tamkīn.
Keywords
Right of retention (Ḥaqq al-Ḥabs), obedience (Tamkīn), Article 1085, disobedience (Nushūz), maintenance (Nafaqa), Shi&‌‌lsquo
a jurisprudence, marriage contract
Subjects
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