Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
6. The Rights of Husband and Wife
~ 130 ~
The amount of maintenance will, however, be fixed
in relation to the man’s means. If his income is low,
the amount of maintenance will be reduced, and if
it is high, the rate of maintenance will go up.
PROPER BEHAVIOR
Man has been bound at all events to treat women
kindly:
Live with them on a footing of kindness and
equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be
that ye dislike a thing and God brings about
through it a great deal of good.
109
This shows that man has been bound to behave
gently with women not only in pleasant, but also in
unpleasant circumstances. This is an absolute
injunction applying to all situations. A man has to
be kind to his wife, whether or not she is to his
liking.
The injunction on gentle behaviour with women is
so important that this is held to be the essential
condition for having more than one wife. That is the
permission to have more than one wife is given
