Bauchi
Some Islamic scholars in Bauchi state have said that any husband who fails to shoulder the healthcare needs of his family, especially pregnant women and nursing mothers has committed an offence that could invalidate the marriage.
The Islamic scholars who are members of the state Social and Behavior Change Advocacy Core Group (SBC-ACG) made the remark on a live phone in radio programme monitored in Bauchi, which focused on women’s access to healthcare services under the Adalci initiative of the advocacy group.
The Social and Behavior Change Advocacy Core Group is an initiative of Breakthrough Action Nigeria (BA-N), a (USAID) funded programme designed to promote good health behaviours around maternal, newborn and child health, child birth spacing, malaria and nutrition.
The clerics who featured on the programme included Sheik Mustapha Baba Ilelah a onetime chairman of the state Shari’ah commission and Sheik Abdallah Ibrahim.
In his contribution, Sheikh Mustapha Baba Ilelah reminded husbands that neglecting the health needs of one’s wife is a breach of the agreement upon which the marriage was contracted; an offence he said is punishable under the nation’s law and in the hereafter.
“It is incumbent upon every husband to take his wife to a health facility or gives her all that she needs to go and seek medical care when in need. Whosoever that fails in this obligation, is an irresponsible husband and is part of those people whom the Prophet described as La’ims”, remarked Baba Ilelah
On his part, Sheikh Ibrahim Abdallah emphasised that meeting the health needs one’s family is an act of Ibadat (worship), which also attracts reward from Almighty Allah.
“There is no portion of the Holy Qur’an or the Hadith of the Holy Prophet which a Muslim could use as an evidence to refuse his family and especially pregnant wife access to healthcare for herself and the unborn baby,” says Sheikh Abdallah.
