<![CDATA[This article examines how nafkah obligations should be interpreted for husbands with disabilities within Indonesian Islamic family law. It evaluates whether the existing legal framework, particularly the Marriage Law and the Compilation of Islamic Law, provides only formal equality or also supports substantive justice. Using normative juridical research with statutory, conceptual, and justice-based approaches, this study analyzes legal provisions, disability rights principles, Islamic family law doctrine, and scholarly debates on equality, proportionality, and maintenance. The novelty of this article lies in the development of a disability-sensitive framework for nafkah that integrates disability rights, substantive equality, maqāṣid-oriented justice, and Islamic maintenance doctrine. The study finds that Indonesian law formally attaches nafkah obligations to all husbands, including husbands with disabilities, without explicit mechanisms for exemption, suspension, or restructuring. This creates formal equality, but may fail to ensure substantive justice when disability produces structural barriers to employment, income, and social participation. The phrase “according to his ability” provides a normative basis for proportional assessment, yet remains underdeveloped without disability-sensitive judicial standards and institutional support. This article argues that nafkah should be interpreted proportionally to protect the wife’s right to maintenance while recognizing the actual capacity and vulnerability of husbands with disabilities.]]>
