Ruling on Permitting a Wife to Work in Order to Support her Parents

30-10-2025 | IslamWeb

Question:

Can a husband forbid his wife from working if the women wants to for her parents who live alone and don't have a son? What if the father of the woman has his siblings living right next to his house, who always have been helping him financially? Can the man stipulate the no job condition before marriage?What if the man isn't able to take their responsibility either financially or by having them stay with him?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The husband has the right to prevent his wife from working outside the home, even if she wants to work to support her parents. Thus, it is not permissible for her to go out without his permission. If a woman marries, her husband has more right over her than her parents, and her obedience to him takes precedence over her obedience to her parents if it is impossible to combine both of them.

Furthermore, the husband is not obligated to support his wife’s parents financially unless he does so out of his own goodwill.

Lastly, if the parents are in need, their financial support becomes obligatory on their solvent relatives who are supposed to inherit from them, according to the most preponderant opinion of the scholars.

Allah knows best.