Reconstructing Nafaqah (Living) in the Sandwich Generation
A Madhhab-Based Analysis of Gender Justice and Economic Burden
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24252/mazahibuna.vi.65967Keywords:
Adaptive nafaqah, Islamic Family Law, Sandwich Generation, Intergenerational Financial Responsibility, Gender RelationsAbstract
This study examines the transformation of nafaqah practices among Muslim sandwich-generation families and their implications for the normative understanding of financial maintenance in classical Islamic family law. It addresses the gap between classical fiqh doctrines, which generally position husbands as primary breadwinners, and contemporary realities characterised by flexible, intergenerational financial responsibilities. Using a qualitative socio-legal approach informed by grounded theory, the study draws on in-depth interviews with sandwich-generation families. The data were analysed through systematic coding. The findings reveal two principal models of nafaqah: single-breadwinner and shared-breadwinner arrangements involving husbands, wives, children, or combinations thereof, depending on household economic capacity. The scope of financial responsibility has also expanded to include parents and elderly relatives, intensifying intergenerational financial obligations. Furthermore, women increasingly assume dual roles as income earners and caregivers, while education and healthcare have become integral components of household maintenance. These findings reveal tensions between contemporary family practices and classical fiqh doctrines across Islamic legal schools. The study’s principal contribution is the conceptualisation of “adaptive nafaqah” as a middle-range theory of Islamic family law. This framework bridges classical jurisprudential principles and contemporary family realities through a welfare-oriented, relational model of financial responsibility. It also provides an analytical framework for examining family law reform across Muslim-majority societies, contributing to broader debates on legal adaptation, gender relations, and the evolving objectives of Islamic law.
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