housing, according to the opinion of the general body of scholars; among them are al-Sha'bi, Hammad, Malik, al-Awza'i, al-Shafi'i, the scholars of reason (Ashab al-Ra'y), and Abu Thawr. Al-Hakam said: She is entitled to maintenance. Ibn al-Mundhir said: I do not know of anyone who disagreed with them except al-Hakam, and perhaps he argues that her defiance (nushuz) does not cause the loss of her dower (mahr), so likewise it does not cause the loss of her maintenance. Our argument is that maintenance is only obligatory in exchange for her submission, evidenced by the fact that it is not obligatory before she is handed over to him. If he denies her maintenance, she has the right to deny him submission; so if she denies him submission, he has the right to deny her maintenance, just as is the case before the consummation of the marriage. It differs from the dower, for the dower becomes obligatory solely by the contract, which is why if one of them dies before consummation, the dower is obligatory, but not the maintenance. As for if he has a child by her, he is responsible for his child's maintenance, because it is obligatory for him and his right does not lapse due to her disobedience, like that of an adult. He must give it to her if she is the one nursing him or breastfeeding him. Likewise, the wage for her breastfeeding is incumbent upon him to be handed over to her; because it is a wage she acquired over him through breastfeeding, not in exchange for sexual enjoyment, so it does not cease with its cessation.

Section: When the woman's maintenance lapses due to her defiance (nushuz), and she returns from the defiance while the husband is present, her maintenance returns, due to the removal of that which caused it to lapse and the existence of the submission that necessitates it. If he is absent, her maintenance does not return until submission returns with his presence, or with the presence of his deputy, or by the judge's ruling of its obligation once the time of possibility has passed. If his wife becomes an apostate, her maintenance lapses. If she returns to Islam, her maintenance returns solely upon her return, because the maintenance of the apostate woman only lapsed due to her exit from Islam; so when she returns to it, the cause for its lapse is removed, and the maintenance returns.