Separation of a Couple due to Failure of Husband to Pay Alimony under Islamic Jurisprudence

Marriage is one of the important issues that is associated with the creation of mankind, to which the God also attaches high value. One of the essential issues of life and marriage is providing women with a livelihood, which shall become a duty of husband upon marriage. Therefore, husband should have the ability to provide his wife with livelihood. Sometimes people marry with the knowledge that they are not able to pay such livelihood, with the wife marrying upon the confidence that her husband has the ability to pay such livelihood, and then after marriage she finds out that her husband is unable to provide such livelihood. Here the question arises why the wife has the right to terminate such marriage; and if such right is the right to marriage annulment or the right to divorce. Shiite scholars have presented three perspectives on this subject, and it seems that according to the evidence adduced, wife has the right to annul the marriage in such case. The most important proofs for such right are hadiths and irtikāzi (common sense) condition considered for the marriage contract and its absence at the conclusion of such contract. Further, this research made comparisons with the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence and discussed the views of Sunni scholars and their arguments.