The Blood of the Family, Nafaqa: Its Meaning in the Eyes of Shariah

Introduction

Islam is the perfect way of life with its guidance from Allah (S.W.T), the Quran and expounded by the Prophet Muhammad through his teaching and actions in order for his ummah not to go astray. Every situation and every problem has their own solutions in Islam bind by the Islamic law. This paper discusses the issue of Nafaqa in Islam as the blood of the family. Family in Islamic society are protected by religion, Islam. Every member of the family are subject to have Nafaqa. As defined, an obligation of material support for the wife and children. This obligation is stated in the Quran, Men are protectors and maintainers of women because God has given them the one more than the other, and because they support them from their means [their money]1 On the above mentioned verse, family rights and obligations including Nafaqa are the main concerned. It is true that family members who are obligated to receive the Nafaqa is one of the concerns of the paper. The paper also relies on the code of Muslim personal laws (Art. 65 to 70) as the guide for the paper and as scope and limitations of the study.

Holy Quran 4:34

Statement of the problem 1. What is Nafaqain Islam? 2. How Nafaqa become obligatory? 3. Who are the responsible recipients of Nafaqa?

Objectives of the study 1. To discuss the meaning of Nafaqa in Islam 2. To understand how Nafaqa become obligatory 3. To identify those responsible recipients of Nafaqa

Scope and Delimitations of the study This study focus on the discussion of Nafaqa as mentioned in the code of Muslim personal laws, Art 65 to 70 and expounded the articles with other available materials. Other materials also serve as part of the further discussion of the paper.

CHAPTER II Presentation and Analysis

Nafaqa means something given as maintenance; provisions, food; the food, clothes, housing and similar things that the head of the family has to provide. The word infaq, which is derived from the root nafaqa means to spend money on charity. The plural of nafaqa is nafaqat. As a term, it means the food, clothes and housing sufficient for one person. Nafaqa is generally divided into two: 1. The nafaqa necessary for the person himself. It comes before the nafaqa a person will give to others. The Prophet said, "Spend money on yourself first, and then on those whom you have to look after."2 2. The nafaqa a person has to give to others. That kind of nafaqa originates from three reasons: marriage, blood relation and property (ownership).

Muslim, Zakat, 95, 97, 106; Abu Dawud, Zakat, 39, 40; Ahmed b. Hanbal, II, 94

Cited the article in the code of Muslim Filipinos listed below: Art. 65. Support defined Support (nafaqa) includes everything that is indispensable for sustenance, dwelling, clothing and medical attendance according to the social attending of the person obliged to give it, and the education, training or vacation even beyond the age of majority.3 Art. 66. Amount.- The amount of support shall be in proportion to the resources of the giver and needs of the recipient.

Art. 67. Support for wife and infant. 1. The wife shall be entitled to support during the marriage. In cases of divorced (talaq), her right shall be extended up to the expiration of the idda. However, in case the wife is pregnant at the time of the separation, she shall be entitled to support until delivery. 2. Any divorced nursing mother who continues to breastfeed her child for two years shall be entitled to support until the weaning.

Art. 68. Support between ascendants and descendants. The ascendants and descendants shall be obliged to support each other in the order in which they are called to succeed by intestacy the person who has a right to claim support.

Arabani, B. I., Commentaries on the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines with Jurisprudence and Special Procedure. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store, 1990, p. 375

Art. 69. Payment. 1. The obligation to support shall be demandable from the time the recipient needs it for maintenance, but it shall not be paid except from the date it is extrajudicially demanded. 2. Payment shall be made daily, weekly or monthly in advance, when the recipient dies, his heirs shall not be obliged to return what he had received in advance. 3. If the recipient is the wife, the rule established in the forgoing paragraph shall apply even though the marriage is dissolved.

Art. 70. Extinguishment of support. The obligation to support shall cease: a. Upon the death of the recipient; b. When the resources of the obligator have been so reduced that he cannot give the support without neglecting his own needs and those of his family, except that in the case of the spouses, the husband, though needy, is obliged to support the wife; or c. When the recipient commits any act which would give rise to disqualification to inherit or denial of support under Muslim law.

In Islam, the duty of winning the bread for the wife and children lies on the father, as the head of the family. In addition, if his mother, father, brothers, sisters and other relatives become needy and dependent, their maintenance is included in this duty.

The responsible recipients People that deserve to receive nafaqa are as follows: As cited in the art 67. The main recipients are the wife and the infants or their children. When a woman marries and moves to her husbands house, all of her spending regarding food, clothes and housing lies on her husband. They are provided without extravagance or stinginess in accordance with the social levels of the spouses. If both of the spouses are rich, the money is spent in accordance with their levels. If both of them are poor, the woman cannot ask her husband to spend money on her like rich people. If one of them is poor and the other is rich, a moderate level is maintained. However, some scholars say that only the state of the husband is taken into consideration regarding the amount of the nafaqa. The following is stated in verses: But the father shall bear the cost of their food and clothing on equitable terms"4 Let the man of means spend according to his means: and the man whose resources are restricted, let him spend according to what Allah has given him. Allah puts no burden on any person beyond what he has given him. After a difficulty, Allah will soon grant relief."5 The husband has to meet the clothing expenses of his wife. Here, the criterion is the social level and the customs that are in compatible with Islam. A woman has the right of having at least two sets of clothes a year: one for the summer and one for the winter. Things like quilts, beds, linens and pillows are regarded among the clothing items.

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Holy Quran 2:233 Holy Quran 65:7

The husband has to provide his wife with a dwelling with appropriate interior fittings suitable for her social state and without bad neighbors. That dwelling has to be safe for the property, life and honor of the woman and it should be appropriate for a marriage life. The following is stated in a verse: "Let the women live (in 'iddah) in the same style as ye live, according to your means: annoy them not, so as to restrict them"6

The woman cannot be forced to live with the relatives of her husband. However, the husband has the right of making his daughter from another marriage who has not reached the age of puberty live with them. Nafaqa is not necessary for a woman whose husband dies because when the man dies, all of his property passes on to the inheritors. She becomes one of the inheritors at a rate of one-fourth or one-eighth. In the first periods of Islam, the husband had to will that his wife would be given nafaqa for a year after his death. The following is stated in a verse: "Those of you who die and leave widows should bequeath for their widows a year's maintenance and residence"7

However, the decree regarding one-yearnafaqa and dwelling, and the decree of will were abrogated by the 12th verse of the chapter an-Nisa; the one-year iddah was shortened by the following verse:

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Holy Quran 65:6 Holy Quran 2:240

"If any of you die and leave widows behind; they shall wait concerning themselves four months and ten days when they have fulfilled their term"8

The sustenance of the children, the nafaqa of the sons and daughters have to be provided by the father. The nafaqa of the children covers food, clothing and dwelling needs of the children.

The conditions for the father to have the liability for providing nafaqa for his son a) The son must be no older than the age of puberty. However, if the child has reached the age of puberty but if he is disabled, crippled, paralyzed or chronically ill and if he is unable to earn his living, the responsibility of the father continues. b) The son must be poor. If the child has his own property, the money for his sustenance is taken from it. c) The father must afford to take care of his children. He is regarded to be so if he is rich or able to work. d) The father and his son must be free people, not slaves.

The conditions for the father to have the liability for providing nafaqa for his daughter a) There is no condition of age or having reached the age of puberty for daughters. The sustenance of the daughters has to be provided by the father until

Holy Quran 2:234

they get married. After they get married, it has to be provided for the husbands. If the husband of the woman dies or if she is divorced, she returns to her fathers house. The woman cannot be forced to work. However, it is permissible for her to work if she finds a job in compliance with Islamic principles. b) She must be poor. If she has her own property, the money for her sustenance is taken from it. c) The father must be able to work and earn money or be rich. d) The father and his daughter must be free people, not slaves.

It is stated in a hadith to whom a person should give priority in providing sustenance for his relatives as follows: "A man came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and said: O Messenger of Allah! I have one dinar with me. How should I spend it? Hazrat Prophet said: Spend it on your needs. The man said, I have one more dinar. The Prophet said, Spend it on your wife. The man said, I have one more dinar. The Prophet said, Spend it on your children.The man said, I have one more dinar. The Prophet said, Spend it on your servant. When the man said he had one more dinar, the Prophet let him free what to do by saying, "You know it better how to spend it.

Schematic Diagram: Researchers view on the subject, Father is responsible for all the members of the family

Mother

Father
Son
Daugther

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CHAPTER III SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

In Sharia, nafaqa is defined as an obligation of material support for the wife and children. This is a gendered entity in Islamic marriage, as long as the marriage has been consummated. When the marriage is consummated, the husband becomes responsible for providing his wife and children born of the marriage with food, clothing, and shelter regardless of the wifes own resources. This obligation is stated in the Quran; it reads the following: Men are protectors and maintainers of women because God has given them the one more than the other, and because they support them from their means [their money]9

Failure of the husband to provide the nafaqamay result a big problem in the family and in the community. As a general rule, the husband has an obligation to supportnafaqa to his wife or wives until such time as the marriage is terminated by divorce or death.

Holy Quran 4:34

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Bibliography 1. Arabani, B. I., Commentaries on the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines with Jurisprudence and Special Procedure. Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store, 1990 2. Abd al-Ati, Hammudah. The Family Structure in Islam. KL: American Trust Publications, 1977 3. Doi, AbdurRahman. Shariah: The Islamic Law. KL, Malaysia: A.S. Noordeen, 1984

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