Source: Ahkām wa Masā’il Kitāb-o-Sunnat Kī Roshni Mein by Shaykh Mubashir Ahmad Rabbānī
Can a woman sell her husband’s property without his consent or knowledge? And when parents distribute wealth among their children during their lifetime, must it be divided equally among all children, or may some be given and others withheld?
A Woman Selling Her Husband’s Property Without Permission:
Allah ﷻ has appointed the man as guardian, protector, and authority over the woman—not the reverse. Allah says:
﴿الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ﴾
“Men are protectors and maintainers of women…”
[Surah al-Nisāʾ: 34]
This divine authority is based on:
① The natural strength and ability Allah has granted men over women
② The financial responsibility placed upon men, including earning and spending on the family
«أَلا وَاسْتَوْصُوا بِالنِّسَاءِ خَيْرًا، فَإِنَّمَا هُنَّ عَوَانٌ عِندَكُمْ»
“Treat women well, for they are like prisoners with you.”
“Allah has obligated the wife to fulfill the rights of her husband and to obey him. Disobedience to the husband is ḥarām, due to the favor and responsibility that Allah has granted the husband over the wife.”
He also quoted the ḥadīth:
«لَوْ كُنْتُ آمِرًا أَحَدًا أَنْ يَسْجُدَ لِأَحَدٍ لَأَمَرْتُ الْمَرْأَةَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِزَوْجِهَا»
“If I were to command anyone to prostrate to another, I would have commanded the woman to prostrate to her husband, due to his great right over her.”
Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī رضي الله عنه said:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the Farewell Ḥajj say: ‘A woman should not spend anything from her husband’s house without his permission.’ It was asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, not even food?’ He replied: ‘That is the best of our wealth.’”
“This is the agreed upon practice among the scholars: A woman is not permitted to give charity from her husband's wealth without his consent. The same applies to a servant. Both would be sinful if they did so.”
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated:
“A woman should not give charity from her husband’s house without his permission. If she does so, the husband receives the reward, but the wife bears the sin.”
The ḥadīth continues:
A woman asked: “O Messenger of Allah, what is the husband's right over his wife?”
He replied: “She must not leave the house without his permission. If she does, the angels—those of mercy and those of wrath—curse her until she repents or returns.”
Ibn ʿUmar said: “O Messenger of Allah, even if the husband is oppressive?”
He replied: “Even if he is oppressive.”
Distribution of Wealth Among Children During Parents’ Lifetime:
When parents distribute their wealth among their children during their lifetime, it is obligatory to uphold justice and equality among them. Preferring some children over others without valid Sharʿī reason is impermissible.
Sayyidunā Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr رضي الله عنه said:
“My father gave me a gift (a slave), and my mother ʿAmrah bint Rawāḥah said: ‘I am not satisfied until you make the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a witness to this.’
So they came to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him. He asked:
‘Have you given all your children the same gift?’
He replied: ‘No.’
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
«فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ أَوْلَادِكُمْ»
“Fear Allah and be just among your children.”
He also said:
«لَا أَشْهَدُ عَلَى جَوْرٍ»
“I do not bear witness to injustice.”
“If a man gives a gift to some of his children, it is not valid unless he is just and gives the same to the others as well. No one should be a witness to such injustice.”
✔ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī:
“Those who consider equality among children in gifts to be obligatory have used this ḥadīth as evidence. This was explicitly stated by Imām al-Bukhārī, and it is the view of Ṭāwūs, al-Thawrī, Aḥmad, and Isḥāq.”
✔ A narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
«سَوُّوا بَيْنَ أَوْلَادِكُمْ فِي الْعَطِيَّةِ، فَلَوْ كُنْتُ مُفَضِّلًا أَحَدًا، لَفَضَّلْتُ النِّسَاءَ»
“Be equal in gifts to your children. Had I preferred anyone, I would have preferred daughters.”
✔ Imām al-Bayhaqī placed this narration under the chapter:
“Chapter: Equality Between Children in Gifts Is Sunnah”
A wife cannot sell her husband's property without his clear or implied consent. Doing so is a sin, and she will be held accountable before Allah.
A parent must distribute gifts equally among all children during their lifetime. If they do otherwise, they should revoke the gifts and act justly. Otherwise, such an act is deemed unjust and sinful.
After a parent’s death, inheritance will be divided according to Sharʿī laws of inheritance.
والله أعلم بالصواب — And Allah knows best.
❖ Question:
Can a woman sell her husband’s property without his consent or knowledge? And when parents distribute wealth among their children during their lifetime, must it be divided equally among all children, or may some be given and others withheld?
❖ Answer:
A Woman Selling Her Husband’s Property Without Permission:Allah ﷻ has appointed the man as guardian, protector, and authority over the woman—not the reverse. Allah says:
﴿الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ﴾
“Men are protectors and maintainers of women…”
[Surah al-Nisāʾ: 34]
This divine authority is based on:
① The natural strength and ability Allah has granted men over women
② The financial responsibility placed upon men, including earning and spending on the family
❖ The Prophet ﷺ said during the Farewell Ḥajj:
«أَلا وَاسْتَوْصُوا بِالنِّسَاءِ خَيْرًا، فَإِنَّمَا هُنَّ عَوَانٌ عِندَكُمْ»
“Treat women well, for they are like prisoners with you.”
Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 3087; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 7/96
❖ Imām Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله stated:
“Allah has obligated the wife to fulfill the rights of her husband and to obey him. Disobedience to the husband is ḥarām, due to the favor and responsibility that Allah has granted the husband over the wife.”
Reference: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 2/262
He also quoted the ḥadīth:
«لَوْ كُنْتُ آمِرًا أَحَدًا أَنْ يَسْجُدَ لِأَحَدٍ لَأَمَرْتُ الْمَرْأَةَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِزَوْجِهَا»
“If I were to command anyone to prostrate to another, I would have commanded the woman to prostrate to her husband, due to his great right over her.”
❖ Women Cannot Spend from Husband’s Wealth Without Permission:
Abū Umāmah al-Bāhilī رضي الله عنه said:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the Farewell Ḥajj say: ‘A woman should not spend anything from her husband’s house without his permission.’ It was asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah, not even food?’ He replied: ‘That is the best of our wealth.’”
Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 670; Ibn Mājah: 2295; Sharḥ al-Sunnah 6/204
❖ Imām al-Baghawī رحمه الله commented:
“This is the agreed upon practice among the scholars: A woman is not permitted to give charity from her husband's wealth without his consent. The same applies to a servant. Both would be sinful if they did so.”
Reference: Sharḥ al-Sunnah 6/205
❖ A Clear Ḥadīth on the Matter:
Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما narrated:
“A woman should not give charity from her husband’s house without his permission. If she does so, the husband receives the reward, but the wife bears the sin.”
The ḥadīth continues:
A woman asked: “O Messenger of Allah, what is the husband's right over his wife?”
He replied: “She must not leave the house without his permission. If she does, the angels—those of mercy and those of wrath—curse her until she repents or returns.”
Ibn ʿUmar said: “O Messenger of Allah, even if the husband is oppressive?”
He replied: “Even if he is oppressive.”
Reference: al-Tamhīd 1/231; 10/160; Ibn Abī Shaybah 3/552, ḥadīth 17118
Distribution of Wealth Among Children During Parents’ Lifetime:When parents distribute their wealth among their children during their lifetime, it is obligatory to uphold justice and equality among them. Preferring some children over others without valid Sharʿī reason is impermissible.
❖ Example from the Sunnah:
Sayyidunā Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr رضي الله عنه said:
“My father gave me a gift (a slave), and my mother ʿAmrah bint Rawāḥah said: ‘I am not satisfied until you make the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a witness to this.’
So they came to the Prophet ﷺ and informed him. He asked:
‘Have you given all your children the same gift?’
He replied: ‘No.’
The Prophet ﷺ then said:
«فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ أَوْلَادِكُمْ»
“Fear Allah and be just among your children.”
He also said:
«لَا أَشْهَدُ عَلَى جَوْرٍ»
“I do not bear witness to injustice.”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Hibah: 2586, 2587, 2650
❖ Imām al-Bukhārī wrote:
“If a man gives a gift to some of his children, it is not valid unless he is just and gives the same to the others as well. No one should be a witness to such injustice.”
❖ Scholars’ Views:
✔ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī:
“Those who consider equality among children in gifts to be obligatory have used this ḥadīth as evidence. This was explicitly stated by Imām al-Bukhārī, and it is the view of Ṭāwūs, al-Thawrī, Aḥmad, and Isḥāq.”
Reference: Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/214
✔ A narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما:
«سَوُّوا بَيْنَ أَوْلَادِكُمْ فِي الْعَطِيَّةِ، فَلَوْ كُنْتُ مُفَضِّلًا أَحَدًا، لَفَضَّلْتُ النِّسَاءَ»
“Be equal in gifts to your children. Had I preferred anyone, I would have preferred daughters.”
Reference: Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/214
✔ Imām al-Bayhaqī placed this narration under the chapter:
“Chapter: Equality Between Children in Gifts Is Sunnah”
Reference: al-Sunan al-Kubrā 6/176
❖ Final Summary:
A wife cannot sell her husband's property without his clear or implied consent. Doing so is a sin, and she will be held accountable before Allah. A parent must distribute gifts equally among all children during their lifetime. If they do otherwise, they should revoke the gifts and act justly. Otherwise, such an act is deemed unjust and sinful.After a parent’s death, inheritance will be divided according to Sharʿī laws of inheritance.
والله أعلم بالصواب — And Allah knows best.
