Islamic Legal Analysis of the Concept of Maintenance in the Context of a Working Wife
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37899/mjdpp.v3i1.320Keywords:
Working Wife, Islamic Law, Maqashid Syari’ahAbstract
This study examines the concept of maintenance (nafkah) in Islamic law within the contemporary context in which wives increasingly participate in the workforce. The growing involvement of women in public economic sectors has created new dynamics in the structure of family responsibilities, particularly regarding the division of financial obligations that are traditionally assigned to the husband. This situation raises fundamental legal questions regarding whether a wife’s employment influences the obligation of maintenance and how Islamic law interprets this condition. This research employs a library-based method by analyzing primary and secondary sources, including the Qur’an, Hadith, classical and contemporary fiqh literature, legal opinions from various schools of thought, national regulations such as the Marriage Law, the Compilation of Islamic Law, and decisions of the Religious Courts. The analysis adopts a normative-comparative approach supported by the maqasid al-shariah perspective in order to explore the relevance of maintenance regulations in responding to modern social and economic changes.
References
Afnandito, M. (2025). From Maqāṣid Shariah to Policy An Epistemological Framework for Ethical, Holistic, and Sustainable Islamic Economic Development. El-Qish: Journal of Islamic Economics, 5(2), 180-191.
Ahyani, H., & Figueiredo, A. J. P. (2024). Integrating Shariah Principles in Modern Family and Economic Life for Social Well-being and Justice. Munakahat: Journal of Islamic Family Law, 1(1), 94-107.
Aini, A. N., & Arif, M. (2025). Determinants of Female Labor Force Participation Rate in 2019-2023 in 34 Provinces of Indonesia. Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Sharia Economics (IIJSE), 8(1), 2520-2531. https://doi.org/10.31538/iijse.v8i1.6309
Ardo, H., & Adamu, A. I. (2025). The rights of a working wife to maintenance: an islamic perspective. MAQOLAT: Journal of Islamic Studies, 3(2), 250-257.
Auda, J. (2008). Maqasid al-shariah as philosophy of Islamic law: A systems approach. The International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Cedeño, D. (2024). Applying Hegelian theory to contemporary family science. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 16(3), 563-581. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/jftr.12574
Central Statistics Agency. (2024). Women in the Indonesian workforce: National employment statistics. BPS RI.
Datau, A. Y., Thalib, M. C., & Kaluku, J. A. (2024). Protection of Rights Against Legal Wives on Fulfillment of Household Maintenance by Husband. Estudiante Law Journal, 6(2), 394-406. https://doi.org/10.33756/eslaj.v6i2.28187
Duderija, A. (2014). Islamic Law Reform and Maqāṣid al-sharīʿa in the Thought of Mohammad Hashim Kamali. In Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿa and Contemporary Reformist Muslim Thought: An Examination (pp. 13-37). New York: Palgrave Macmillan US.
Fitria, T. N. (2025). A Working Wife: An Islamic Economic Perspective on Women’s Economic Participation in Household and Workforce. Jurnal Ilmiah Ekonomi Islam, 11(03). https://doi.org/10.29040/jiei.v11i03.17112
Habibie, I. Z. (2024). Fulfillment of Wife's Nafkah Rights: Identification of Constraints and Implications for Household Harmony. Damhil Law Journal, 4(2), 161-175. http://dx.doi.org/10.56591/dlj.v4i2.2700
Hallaq, W. B. (2022). Law and legal theory in classical and medieval Islam. Routledge.
Harefa, S. (2025). The fundamental principles of Islamic law in the digital era: An ushul fiqh and maqashid Sharia approach. Journal of Islamic Law on Digital Economy and Business, 84-99. https://doi.org/10.20885/JILDEB.vol1.iss1.art6
Hasanah, N. (2019). Marriage registration and the protection of women. Journal of Women and Sharia, 6(2), 112–129.
Hidayah, O. N., & Meidina, A. R. (2023). Analysis of the Rights and Obligations of Husband and Wife in the Compilation of Islamic Law: A Review from the Perspective of Gender Equality. Legitima: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Islam, 6(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.33367/legitima.v6i1.4148
Ibn al-Mundzir. (1999). Al-ijmā‘. Dār al-Fikr.
Ibn Qudāmah, A. (2005). Al-mughnī. Dār al-Fikr.
Kobko-Odarii, V., Leheza, Y., Sokolovskiy, K., Tatarenko, H., & Nestertsova-Sobakar, O. (2025). Reconstructing Gender Equality in Family Law: A Normative and Comparative Analysis of European Family Law Systems in Religious Context. Syariah: Jurnal Hukum Dan Pemikiran, 25(1), 195-214. https://doi.org/10.18592/sjhp.v25i1.17694
Kurniasari, W., Budiarty, I., & Murwiati, A. (2025). Economic and Health Dimension of Female Labor Force Participation in Indonesia. Jurnal Ekonomi Pembangunan, 14(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.23960/jep.v14i1.3879
Maulana, M. I., Falah, F., & Sutisna, N. (2025). The Role of Maqashid al-Shariah in Shaping a Civilizational Ethic: Reflections from Tunisia. Tanwir: Journal of Islamic Civilization, 2(1), 55-70. https://doi.org/10.33830/elqish.v5i2.13308.2025
Maulida, N. (2021). Working women and the dynamics of family support in Indonesian Muslim households. UIN Press.
Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. (1991). Compilation of Islamic law. Directorate General of Islamic Institutional Development.
Motiejune, G. S. (2025). Polygamy in Islam: A Study on Its Religious Justifications and Empowerment of Women Within Islamic Teachings. QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies, 4(1), 59-74. https://doi.org/10.23917/qist.v4i1.6948
Nasir, F. N. J. A., & Jubri, M. M. (2024). The Husband’s Obligation In Providing Nafaqah To The Wife During The Pandemic Hardship: An Analysis From An Islamic Perspective. Jurnal Syariah, 32(2), 300-349. https://doi.org/10.22452/syariah.vol32no2.4
Nawawī, I. (2002). Al-majmū‘ sharḥ al-muhadhdhab. Dār al-Fikr.
Nisa, K. (2021). Changes in the economic role of Muslim families and their fiqh implications. Journal of Islamic Family Studies, 3(2), 115–132.
Qaradawi, Y. al-. (1999). Fiqh al-usrah al-muslimah. Dār al-Syurūq.
Republic of Indonesia. (1974). Law No. 1 of 1974 concerning marriage.
Tamamiyah, L. (2025). The Evolving Practice of Marriage Contracts in Islamic Family Law: Customary Influences and Legal Implications. Journal of Islamic Family Law, 1(1), 16-22. https://doi.org/10.59784/jifl.v1i1.3
Ubaidilah, N., & Husna, A. (2023). Regulation of Maintenance in Islamic Family Law: Implications for Family Welfare. International Journal of Health, Economics, and Social Sciences (IJHESS), 5(4), 601-612. https://doi.org/10.56338/ijhess.v5i4.6639
Utami, S. (2021). The double burden of women in working households. Indonesian Sociology Journal, 7(2), 145–162.
Witte, J. (2012). From sacrament to contract: Marriage, religion, and law in the Western tradition. Presbyterian Publishing Corp.
Zada, K. (2020). Maqāṣid al-syarī‘ah and public policy in the context of modern law. Journal of Islamic Law, 18(1), 23–40.
Zaher, C. (2002). When a woman's marital status determined her legal status: a research guide on the common law doctrine of coverture. Law Libr. J., 94, 459.
Zaidan, A. K. (2004). Al-mufassal fī aḥkām al-mar’ah wa al-bayt al-muslim fī al-syarī‘ah al-islāmiyyah. Muassasah al-Risālah.
Zuḥailī, W. (1985). Al-fiqh al-islāmī wa adillatuhu (Vol. 7). Dār al-Fikr
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Moccasin Journal De Public Perspective

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This journal provides direct open access to it's content on the principle that research is freely available to the public supporting a greater global exchange of knowledge. All articles published by Open Access will soon and forever be free for everyone to read and download. The license options defined for this journal are Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)










