Is It Still Permissible for Us to Maintain Ties with My Deceased Brother’s Widowed Wife?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
My brother recently passed away and returned to Allah. He has two daughters and his wife, who is a widow now.
Is it still permissible for my brother and husband, as well as me, my sister, my mother, and the widowed wife of my deceased brother, to see each other and have family visits? I think keeping family bonds is especially important for my nieces, who adore their uncle.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I hope you are well.
It is sad to hear of your brother’s demise, (إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ)
May Allah (Most High) forgive him completely, fill his grave with light and make his children a means for continuous charity (sadaqa jariya), amin.
Yes, she (the widow) would be allowed to visit you and maintain family kinship after the waiting period (idda) is complete.
It is also well-known that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was an excellent son-in-law. ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) said, I never envied any wife of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) as I envied Khadija. She passed away before the Prophet married me.
That is why I used to hear the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) mention her. Allah commanded the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) to congratulate her with a house made of cane (in Jannah).
Whenever the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) would slaughter a sheep, he would send sufficient provision to her associates (her friends/his in-laws). [Bukhari]
Maintaining Family Ties
It is also reported on the authority of Anas (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “He who desires abundance in his sustenance and his life prolonged should maintain good family ties.” [Bukhari]
We can learn from the Prophets’ examples and find many references on how important it is to maintain family ties, especially in the case of someone who is a widow with children.
I pray this helps with your questions.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete hifz of Quran in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
