The Right of the Wife to the Surplus of Alimony in Imamiyah Jurisprudence and Iranian and English Law

In Islam, a man through a permanent marriage is obliged to provide his wife's alimony. The jurisprudential basis for the necessity of alimony is the verses (ayahs) and narrations and its legal foundation is Article 1106 of the Civil Code. The tenet of the necessity of alimony is based on consensus (Ijmā), but there is disagreement upon the nature of alimony regarding being as acquisition or enjoyment among Islamic jurisconsults. In Iran there is no rule whether alimony is acquisition or enjoyment by nature. Attributing acquisition of alimony to wife provides her with powers in terms of expending and disposing of the alimony that are not existed or at least are much less or restricted in enjoyment. There is no disagreement among Islamic jurisconsults as to the enjoyment nature of possessions such as house or servant using of which does not fade the original and acquisition nature of those that fade by utilizing. The only case upon which Islamic jurisconsults are not agreed is possessions such as clothing, in which case the certain tradition and custom could be the basis of judgment and settlement of the dispute between the spouses. In English law, there is a similar alimony during a marital life as well, but not as much broad and precise as that of Iran and Islam. This article, through a descriptive-analytic method, aims to specify the ideas of Islamic jurisconsults on the nature of alimony regarding being acquisition or enjoyment and express similarities and differences between Iranian and English Law.