Can a father prevent his married wife from nursing their child for a wage?
Chapter on Who is More Entitled to Child Custody
Al-Mughni
Book of Maintenance (Nafaqāt)
Primary text
If the mother is married, the husband may prevent her from nursing the child because this impedes his right to conjugal intimacy some of the time. If the father hires the mother for nursing, this contract is invalid because her services (manafi') are legally his right, and one cannot hire another for something that is already one's own right, wholly or partially.
Supporting text
The assertion that the husband owns her services is incorrect. If he owned the right to her custody services, he could compel her to perform them, and she could not hire herself out to others even with his permission, nor would the wages belong to her. The prohibition against her hiring herself to a stranger without permission stems only from the potential loss of his right to intimacy at certain times; thus, her hiring herself to the father is valid because he has consented to her engaging in service for hire, just as a transaction with a stranger becomes valid with his permission.