Is It Permissible for an Elder Sister To Hit Her Younger Brother When They Are Adults?
Answered by Ustadha Shazia Ahmad
Question
My husband’s elder sisters always tell him that since they are elder sisters they have the right to hit him or slap him. Is this true? Do they have the right to hit him?
Answer
Thank you for your question. No, his sisters have no right to hit him or slap him, it is impermissible, and their behavior is embarrassing.
Relationship
The best advice that I can give you for their sibling relationship is here:
How to Deal With Difficult Siblings?
A sibling relationship should be based on love, mutual understanding, and support. Siblings should be able to help each other, advise each other and lean on each other. Your sisters-in-law have it all wrong if they are hitting him and putting him down like this, or worst, trying to discipline him.
Hitting
Please see the grave ruling on striking the face, and the ruling on physical discipline:
Is Beating Someone Permissible When Defending One’s Honor or as a Religious Admonishment?
I pray that you can have them read these articles and understand that they must repent, and begin to honor and respect their brother. This prophetic hadith should be the foundation of their relationship: “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother,“ or he said, “for his neighbor, what he loves for himself. “ [Ibn Majah]
May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafsir, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.
