The gist of this is that when a man withholds maintenance from his wife due to his indigence and lack of means to provide, the woman is given the choice between remaining patient with him or separating from him. This is reported from Umar, Ali, and Abu Hurayrah. This is the opinion of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, al-Hasan, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Rabi'ah, Hammad, Malik, Yahya al-Qattan, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, Abu 'Ubayd, and Abu Thawr. Ata', al-Zuhri, Ibn Shubrumah, and Abu Hanifah and his two companions maintained that she does not possess the right to separate from him due to this; rather, he should release his hold on her so that she may earn her own living, because it is a right she has against him, and the marriage is not to be annulled due to his inability to provide it, like a debt. Al-'Anbari said: He is to be imprisoned until he provides maintenance. Our argument is the statement of Allah Almighty: "Then either keep [her] in an acceptable manner or release [her] with good treatment" (Quran 2:229). Retaining her while withholding maintenance is not keeping her in an acceptable manner, so release becomes necessary. Sa'id narrated from Sufyan, from Ibn Abi al-Zinad, who said: I asked Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib about a man who cannot find what he needs to provide for his wife, should they be separated? He said: Yes. I asked: Is this the Sunnah? He said: It is the Sunnah. This refers to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Ibn al-Mundhir said: It is established that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to the commanders of the armies regarding men who were absent from their wives, ordering them to either provide maintenance or divorce them, and if they divorced them, they should send the maintenance for the time that had passed.