Is it permissible for me to neglect the rights of my wife?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question Summary
Is it permissible for me to neglect the rights of my wife due to my parent’s disapproval of her?
Question Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
It is an obligation upon you, as a husband, to financially support your wife. This includes shelter, clothing, as well as other necessary expenses. [Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]
It is a religious obligation to obey your parents in that which is within their rights and is permitted in the religion. [Nahlawi, al-Durar al-Mubaha]
Their commanding you to not fulfill your financial obligation to your wife is a command to sin. You must respectfully decline to obey such a command.
Likewise, if your wife has not done anything wrong and would be put into undue difficulty by your divorcing of her, you must not obey your parents. Their commanding you to divorce your wife without an Islamically recognized reason is a command to sin. You must not obey.
No Obedience in the Sinful
Furthermore, The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “There is no obedience to the creation in the disobedience to the Creator.” [Ahmad]
The Messenger (may Allah bless him and give him peace) also said, “The Muslim is charged with listening and obeying regarding that which they love and that which they dislike, as long as they are not commanded to commit a sin. If they are commanded to commit a sin, they are not obliged to listen or obey.” [Tirmidhi]
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
