Hadithcore
Sahih al-Bukhari, 2066
sahih

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If a woman gives something (i.e. in charity) from her husband's earnings without his permission, she will get half his reward."

حَدَّثَنِي يَحْيَى بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، عَنْ هَمَّامٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏

‏ إِذَا أَنْفَقَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ مِنْ كَسْبِ زَوْجِهَا عَنْ غَيْرِ أَمْرِهِ، فَلَهُ نِصْفُ أَجْرِهِ ‏

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References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 34, Hadith 19
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Vol. 3, Book 34, Hadith 280 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
In this hadeeth, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ highly praised spending in charity and emphasized its reward, urging Muslims to spend more in charity. He ﷺ also underlined the reward earned by both the husband and wife when she spends in charity from her husband's earnings without his explicit consent, while knowing his tacit approval of such disposal of his wealth; or in the case that such act of disposal is customarily pardoned and approved. An example is when she offers in charity an insignificant amount of food or money. However, if she spends a significant amount of food or money in charity without his explicit consent and such an act is not customarily pardoned and approved, she earns no reward for her act and rather bears a sin for it. If she spends in charity seeking to earn the pleasure of Allah, Exalted is He, the husband is credited with half the reward. She would earn the reward for spending in charity, and her husband would be credited with the reward for earning this money. It has also been said that the hadeeth rather means that the husband gets an equal share in the reward of spending charity; each gets half the reward, since whoever guides someone to a good deed receives a reward similar to that of its doer (i.e.,without his reward being diminished in any respect), and this entails having equal shares of the reward. It is said that the money spent in charity, for which a husband gets half the reward when his wife spends, should be surplus to the enjoined maintenance on one’s household and children, after fulfilling their needs without extravagance or squandering. It has also been said that the hadeeth refers to the case when a husband gives an allowance to his wife to provide for herself and her household. If she spends from such money without his knowledge, the reward is shared by them both; she gets the reward of spending in charity and he gets the reward for earning this money, and because he is also rewarded for the money he spends on his family in general. The wife gets the reward because this money was taken from the enjoined maintenance for her (and her household). .
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