What is the measure for the obligatory maintenance (Nafaqah)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Maintenance (Nafaqāt)
Primary text
Maintenance is quantified by sufficiency (kifayah) and varies according to the recipient upon whom the maintenance is obligatory. This view is held by Abu Hanifa and Malik. The basis for this is the Prophet's saying to Hind: "Take what is sufficient for you and your children according to what is right (bil-ma'ruf)", which commanded taking what suffices without a fixed measure, leaving the determination to sound judgment. Furthermore, Allah the Exalted stated: "And upon the father is the provision and clothing for them according to what is right" (Quran 2:233), and the Prophet peace be upon him said: "And they have upon you their provision and clothing according to what is right." Obligating less than sufficiency abandons what is right, while obligating the measure of sufficiency, even if it is less than a Mudd or two Ratal of bread, constitutes provision according to what is right, making it obligatory by the Book and the Sunnah.
Supporting text
The view held by Al-Qadi stipulates that maintenance is fixed to a measure that does not vary in scarcity or abundance, requiring two Ratal of bread daily for both the wealthy and the poor, drawing an analogy to expiations (Kaffarat). The difference between the wealthy and the poor lies only in the quality and grade of the food, as they are equal in the quantity consumed and that which sustains the body.