Pivotal Excerpt
❝Some of the benefits derived from this ḥadīth, as it relates to the topic at hand are:
“The permissibility of a woman giving charity from her wealth without the permission of her husband: (in it is) a clarification that it is not upon the woman to seek permission from the husband when giving charity with her wealth if she has sound reasoning and understanding.❞
Question and Answer [4:20 Mins]
Question:
Is it permissible for a wife to give charity from her own wealth without the permission of the husband? Is it permissible for a wife to give charity from her own wealth without the permission of her husband?
Answer:
This is an issue that the scholars differed concerning. However, the majority of the scholars, analyzing all of the proofs that we find in this matter, said that it is permissible for a woman, a wife to give charity from her wealth without the permission of her husband. And they rely upon proof from the Qurʿān and also authentic Aḥadīth from the Sunnah of The Prophet ﷺ. One of those Aḥadīth, and there are a number of Aḥadīth that they rely upon to keep it short and concise. One of those Aḥadīth is the Ḥadīth that we find in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
عن ميمونة بنت الحارث أنها أعتقت وليدة في زمان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فذكرت ذلك لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال لو أعطيتها أخوالك كان أعظم لأجرك
Maymūnah bint al-Ḥārith freed a slave girl during the time of the Prophet ﷺ. She mentioned this to the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ, and he said, “Had you given her to your maternal uncles, you would have had a greater reward”. [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: The Book of Charity 2317]
And from this hadith, Shaykh Muhammad Adam Al-Ethiopī, in his explanation of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, which is an excellent explanation of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, and I advise all of the brothers and the sisters if you have the ability to read Arabic to have this in your library, it’s a khidmah, a great service to Islam and the Muslims. Some of the benefits derived from this ḥadīth, as it relates to the topic at hand are:
“The permissibility of a woman giving charity from her wealth without the permission of her husband: (in it is) a clarification that it is not upon the woman to seek permission from the husband when giving charity with her wealth if she has sound reasoning and understanding.”
Meaning she’s not safīha (سفيهة), she’s not classified to be somebody who is foolish and reckless because, ahlul ‘ilm, gathering the text, they say that if she was safīha, reckless or irresponsible, then she would need permission. However, if she is rashīda (رشيدة), she knows how to conduct herself correctly and she has understanding, then she does not need the permission of her husband. And the reason being….
“Because Maymūnah, she freed the slave girl before seeking permission from the Prophet ﷺ and The Prophet ﷺ did not correct this from her. Rather he guided her to what was better. If it was not permissible for her to dispose of her wealth in this fashion, then the Prophet ﷺ would have nullified it, would have rejected this action.”
And again, this is one of the proofs.
والله أعلم وجزاكم الله خيرا.