Is a Sick Wife Still Obligated to Cook and Clean?


Shafi'i Fiqh

Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad

Question

Is a woman with a chronic illness obligated to cook and clean if it causes her significant hardship, especially when older children manage household tasks? Can her husband relieve her of this duty or make accommodations to ease her burden, and would she be sinful for not fulfilling these duties?

Answer

Thank you for your question. A woman who is unable to fulfill household duties is not obliged to do them, she may ask her children to do them or ask her husband to hire someone for the job. In the Shafi‘i School, it’s not an obligation in any case.

Duties

The duties of a wife in the Shafi‘i School are fulfilled by not leaving the house if he forbids one, being cordial and polite if one is usually disposed to be, and allowing him to sleep with one if he requests. [Shatiri, al-Yaqut al-Nafis]. However, it is from the Sunna and the spirit of an Islamic marriage that a wife takes care of the home and food.

Consider that a chronically ill person is exempt from obligatory fasting. How, then, could she not be exempt from cooking and cleaning if she is ill? I ask you to communicate openly with your husband and assure him that you love him and will do whatever you can, within your capacity. Try to make up for it by spending more time sitting and talking to him, praying together, or anything else that doesn’t require much physical effort.

Don’t Lose Heart

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.” [Bukhari]

Dua

Please say these supplications daily and may Allah give you relief:

أعُوذُ بِعِزَّةِ اللهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ مِن شَرِّ ما أجِدُ وأُحاذِر

“I seek protection in the might of Allah and His power from the evil of what I am experiencing and of what I fear.”

اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ النَّاسِ، مُذْهِبَ البَأسِ، اشْفِ أنْتَ الشَّافِي، لاَ شَافِيَ إِلاَّ أنْتَ، شِفَاءً لاَ يُغَادِرُ سَقماً

“Oh Allah! The Sustainer of Mankind! Remove the illness and cure the disease. You are the One Who cures. There is no cure except Your cure. Grant me a cure that leaves no illness.”

أَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ رَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ أَنْ يَشْفِيَني

“I ask Allah, the Mighty, the Lord of the Mighty Throne, to cure me.”

يا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ

“O’ Living, O’ Sustaining, in Your Mercy I seek relief!” [Tirmidhi]

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May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin and completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She later moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.