Is Husband Responsible for Wife’s Education Fees?

Wa`alaykum as-salaamu warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you place in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake.

In Islam, there is nothing wrong if the husband pays his wife’s education fees, but he is not responsible for them unless they both agreed to that before their marriage. If the husband agreed before marriage to let his wife complete her studies and agreed to pay the education fees, then he has to abide by that agreement.

Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states the following:

It would be the case [that the husband must pay his wife’s education fees] only if they had a prior understanding before marriage that she would be allowed to pursue her education [at his expense]. Otherwise, the husband has no such responsibility because the subjects you have mentioned are not essential for survival.

If, however, there was an understanding that the wife would be allowed to pursue her educational goals and the husband would take care of the expenses, then that would be part of their marriage contract.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Muslims are bound by the terms of the contracts they have entered into.” (Ahmad and Abu Dawud)

Allah Almighty knows best.

-aboutislam,net