Wa `alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear sister, thank you for your question and we ask Almighty Allah to provide you with His support and guidance!
As far as Islamic Sh ari`ah is concerned, a husband should maintain his divorcee for three months after the divorce whether or not she takes care of the children. Moreover, if the children remain in her custody and she is responsible for their care, he has to maintain them both; however, if he has custody of the children, she has no financial rights over her ex-husband.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Shaker Elsayed, a prominent Muslim scholar and imam at the Islamic Center, Washington D.C., stated,
The rights of the divorcee are the same in the West or the East. If a woman works inside or outside the home to help and sustain her family, she has the following rights:
1. The husband should cover all her basic living expenses through out the `iddah period; three months after the divorce. This is according to the norm of the society in which they live.
2. If the divorcee continues to care for the children, she has the right to receive a continuous monthly allowance for the living expenses for herself and the children.
3. If the husband has custody of the children, and she is no longer serving the family in any way, then she does not have any financial rights over her ex-husband.
Since you are living in the West, you are encouraged to work out an agreement for financial arrangements that will help you to continue to care for your children. If this is not possible, Islam does not prohibit you from seeking your rights through your mosque, community leaders or imam. If this does not produce an equitable result, Islam allows you to go to court to seek a resolution. This is true for both alimony and custody, with the following exception:
A divorcee does not have an automatic life-long right to alimony as given in the West. Alimony is only contingent upon family service, care of the children and so on. Therefore, if the court gives you something that you are not sure you are entitled to under Islamic law, please consult a Muslim scholar.
