What do we say to the father who does not bear the responsibility of the household and often says, "I have borne the responsibility, and you were young, and the time has come for me to rest"?

The questioner : She has a second question, asking: What do we say to the father who does not bear the responsibility of the household and often says, "I have borne the responsibility, and you were young, and the time has come for me to rest"? So advise us and issue a ruling on this, may you be rewarded.

The Shaykh : I direct the advice first to the man who is the guardian of the household, and I say that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made the man a guardian in his home and informed him that he is responsible for his dependents. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not limit this to a specific age. So as long as the man is capable of caring for his household, it is obligatory for him to do so, and he is responsible for his family. As for what concerns financial maintenance, it is obligatory for him to provide maintenance if the person being maintained from the household is in need. However, if the person has what he needs to maintain himself, then his maintenance is upon himself, because maintenance is the removal of need. So if the person being maintained is not in need of it and has enough money to cover his maintenance, then it is not obligatory for anyone else to maintain him, whether it is his father or anyone else.
As for the children, providing for them is to remove their need. On this basis, I say to the children: if you have money from which you can maintain yourselves, then it is not obligatory for the father to maintain you, except on the basis of voluntary giving. So if he says, "I am not maintaining you now, and Allah has made you self-sufficient, so maintain yourselves," he has the right to do so. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah bless you.