Upon whom does the maintenance of a slave husband's wife fall, and what is the nature of this obligation?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Maintenance (Nafaqāt)
Primary text
If the husband is a slave, maintenance is obligatory for his wife. Scholars, including Ibn Al-Mundhir, have reached a consensus that a slave owes maintenance to his wife. This is the view of Al-Sha'bi, Al-Hakam, Al-Shafi'i, and the Companions of Al-Ra'y, provided he provides her a dwelling. The obligation rests upon the slave's master because the master permitted the marriage which results in this obligation. This obligation is a debt binding the master's liability, analogous to a debt incurred by his authorized agent.
Supporting text
Ibn Abi Musa reported another narration that it is incumbent upon the slave's earnings. Al-Qadi ruled that it is tied to the slave's person (raqabah), similar to the indemnity (Arsh) for a slave's injury, which is settled by selling the slave or the master paying the ransom. The refutation of these secondary views is that maintenance is due even without cohabitation (like for a woman with a barrier to intercourse or one who is menstruating), proving it is not strictly compensation for cohabitation, nor is there a true impediment to binding the master's liability.