And if both are impoverished, he owes the maintenance of the impoverished. If they are both of moderate means, she is entitled to the maintenance of those of moderate means. If one of them is wealthy and the other is impoverished, he owes the maintenance of those of moderate means, regardless of which one is the wealthy party. Abu Hanifah and Malik said: The condition of the woman is considered according to the extent of her sufficiency, based on the saying of God Almighty: "And upon the father is their provision and their clothing according to what is reasonable." [Surat al-Baqarah: 233]. The "reasonable" (al-ma'ruf) is sufficiency. Also, because He equated maintenance with clothing, and clothing is according to her condition, thus maintenance is likewise. The Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said to Hind: "Take what suffices you and your child in a reasonable manner." Thus, he considered her sufficiency without regard to the condition of her husband. Furthermore, her maintenance is obligatory to repel her need, so the consideration is based on what repels her need, not the condition of the one upon whom it is incumbent, just like the maintenance of slaves. Moreover, it is an obligation upon the woman against her husband by virtue of the marriage contract that was not specified, so it is assessed by her, like her dowry and clothing.

Al-Shafi'i said: The consideration is based on the condition of the husband alone, based on the saying of God Almighty: "Let a man of wealth spend from his wealth, and he whose provision is restricted - let him spend from what God has given him. God does not charge a soul except [according to] what He has given it." [Surat al-Talaq: 7].

Our argument is that in what we have mentioned, there is a combination of both evidences, an implementation of both texts, and an observance of both sides; therefore, it is more appropriate.

Section: Maintenance is assessed by sufficiency and varies according to the variation of those for whom maintenance is due in its amount. This is the view of Abu Hanifah and Malik. The Qadi said: It is assessed by a fixed amount that does not vary in scarcity or abundance, and the obligation is two ratls of bread every day, for both the wealthy and the impoverished, by analogy with expiations (kaffarat); they only differ in its quality and excellence, because the wealthy and the impoverished are equal in the amount of food and what the body relies upon, yet they differ in its quality, so the obligatory maintenance is likewise. Al-Shafi'i said: The maintenance of the indigent is a mudd (a specific measurement) according to the mudd of the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him), because the least that is given for an expiation to one person is a mudd.