Is equality in maintenance and clothing required between co-wives?

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Equality in maintenance (Nafaqah) and clothing between co-wives is not obligatory upon the husband, provided that each wife receives what is sufficient for her needs. Ahmad permits favoring one wife over another in maintenance, sexual relations, and clothing, even if the favored wife receives attire superior to that of the other, so long as the second wife is sufficiently provided for. This dispensation is due to the immense difficulty in enforcing strict equality in all these matters; if it were obligatory, fulfilling it would lead to undue hardship, thus negating the obligation, similar to equality in sexual intercourse.