The basis for the obligation of maintenance for parents and offspring is the Book (Quran), the Sunnah, and consensus (ijma'). As for the Book, it is the words of Allah the Exalted: "And if they breastfeed for you, then give them their wages" (65:6), for He made the wage for nursing the child an obligation upon the father. And He, the Exalted, said: "And upon the father is their provision and their clothing according to what is recognized" (2:233). And He, the Exalted, said: "And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment" (17:23), and among good treatment is providing for them when they are in need. As for the Sunnah, it is the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) statement to Hind: "Take what is sufficient for you and your child according to what is recognized." This is agreed upon. 'Aisha narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The most wholesome of what a man eats is from his own earnings, and his child is from his earnings." Narrated by Abu Dawood. As for consensus, Ibn al-Mundhir stated: The scholars have reached a consensus that the maintenance of poor parents who have neither earnings nor wealth is an obligation upon the child's wealth. Every scholar we preserve knowledge from has reached a consensus that a person is responsible for the maintenance of their infant children who have no wealth. This is because one's child is part of oneself, and one is part of their parent; so just as one is obligated to provide for oneself and one's dependents, so too for one's part and one's origin. Once this is established, the mother's maintenance is obligatory, and it is obligatory upon her to provide for her child if there is no father. Abu Hanifa and al-Shafi'i held this view. It was narrated from Malik that there is no maintenance upon her, nor for her, because she is not a 'asaba (agnatic relative) to her child. Our argument is the words of the Exalted: "And to parents, good treatment." And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to a man who asked him: "Who is most deserving of my good company?" He replied: "Your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, then the closest and then the closest." Narrated by Abu Dawood. Also, because she is one of the two parents, she is like the father [and because there is between them a kinship that necessitates the rejection of testimony and the obligation of manumission, so she resembles the father]. If the father is destitute, the maintenance becomes obligatory upon the mother, and she shall not reclaim it from him if he later becomes wealthy. Abu Yusuf and Muhammad said: She shall reclaim it from him. Our argument is that whoever is obligated to provide maintenance due to kinship shall not reclaim it, just like the father.