Under what conditions must maintenance be paid if the wife claims pregnancy?

Chapter on the Condition in which Maintenance is Obligatory on the Husband

Al-Mughni

Book of Maintenance (Nafaqāt)

Book 46 · Issue 2 · Bab 2

Open in Qurani

Primary text

If the wife claims pregnancy and the husband accepts her claim, the husband must pay her maintenance daily. If it turns out she was indeed pregnant, she has received her full right. If it is later discovered she was not pregnant, the husband is entitled to recover the maintenance paid.

Supporting text

There is a differing opinion stating that the husband is not entitled to recover the maintenance paid if the pregnancy is disproven. The correct ruling is that recovery is permissible because the payment was made based on an established obligation; when that obligation is shown not to exist, the payment is reclaimed, analogous to repaying a debt that later turns out not to be owed.