Spousal Maintenance under Imprisonment: The Impact of Unfulfilled Nafkah on Prisoners’ Families in Islamic Law

Abstract

This article examines the fulfillment of a husband’s obligation to provide maintenance (nafkah) to his wife while the husband is serving a prison sentence, from the perspective of Islamic law. The study addresses juridical and social problems faced by prisoners’ families, particularly the husband’s limited capacity to fulfill financial obligations as traditionally constructed in Islamic jurisprudence. This research aims to analyze how Islamic law conceptualizes the obligation of maintenance for an imprisoned husband, identify the impacts of unfulfilled maintenance on prisoners’ families, and examine the role of correctional institutions in maintaining family integrity during imprisonment. This study employs qualitative field research with a descriptive-analytical approach, integrating empirical legal analysis and normative Islamic legal perspectives. Data were collected through interviews with prisoners, prisoners’ wives, and detention center officers, supported by documentation and library research on the Qur’an, Hadith, and Islamic legal literature. The findings show that, normatively, the obligation of maintenance remains attached to the husband under Islamic law, although its implementation is constrained during imprisonment. This condition leads to a shift in family economic roles, with wives assuming primary responsibility for daily financial needs. The impacts extend to economic, social, and psychological dimensions of family life. Nevertheless, husbands may still fulfill non-material maintenance through emotional support, communication, and moral responsibility. From the perspective of mubādalah, marital relations are understood as reciprocal and contextual, without negating the fundamental principle of the husband’s obligation of maintenance.