Iddah maintenance: Concept,issues and methods of enforcement

Al-quran in surah at-talaq verse 6 presents in a clear order that it is a mandatory obligation of the husbands to provide lodging,sustenance,and other things to their divorced wives during iddah period. however,husbands often neglect to bear this trust forcing the wives to file petition for their right. nevertheless,cases have shown that very few women claimed maintenance after divorce for themselves. by neglecting their responsibility,it seems that the husbands are trying to waste the syariah court's time and challenge its credibitity. the objective of this paper is to examine the concept,issues and methods of enforcement of iddah maintainance in the state of terengganu,malaysia. it also suggests the way foward to enhance the capacity of syariah court in dealing with the isssue. the authors adopted qualitative research method to gather data and they found that the weaknesses of the enforcement and execution of a court order can contribute to the non-compliance with court orders,especially with regard to maintenance orders. © universiti putra malaysia press.