Question 1
We are five sisters and have no brothers. My father is the sole breadwinner of the family and resides abroad for work. I used to assist with all household responsibilities, but I recently got married. My parents no longer wish to accept any help from me.I would like to understand my responsibilities towards my parents after marriage. Alhamdulillah, my husband is a pious man and is willing to support me in fulfilling my duties.
Answer 1
Question 2
I am the eldest daughter, with two younger brothers. My father lost his job four years ago, and my brothers are still studying at university. I completed my education and am now married. Previously, I worked to support my family, but I left my job as it interfered with my responsibilities as a wife.
My father and middle brother live in the States, and both are clinically depressed. My mother and youngest brother live back home, where my mother works as a teacher to help sustain them. However, she refuses to move to the States because she dislikes living there.
I am deeply conflicted. My husband struggles to understand how grown Muslim men can suffer from depression and, as a result, looks down on my family. While I sometimes see his perspective, it deeply saddens me.
I felt guilty for not supporting them financially, but my husband disapproved, believing that a man should not rely on a woman for financial help. I agree with him, but I also feel helpless. Now that I no longer provide financial support, my father and brother’s mental health has worsened to the point that they are neglecting their basic needs.
When I travel to another state to visit them, my husband becomes frustrated, feeling that I am taking on responsibilities that should not fall on me. I am torn between being a good wife and fulfilling my duties as a daughter and sister. What are my obligations in this situation? What is the Islamic ruling? I feel so lost and distressed. Please guide me.
Answer 2
Question 3
Is it permissible to remain unmarried? I do not have any issues with marriage itself, but I feel that I may not be able to handle the responsibilities that come with it.
Answer 3
Question 4
I have concerns about the first night after marriage. Since I will be following the Sunnah way—meeting my spouse only in the presence of our families before Nikah—I fear that I will find it difficult to be intimate due to my shyness. What is your advice?
Answer 4
Question 5
I wanted to ask about my rights and responsibilities towards my husband’s son from his previous marriage. When we got married, my husband visited his son when he was 2 years old.
I advised my husband to provide financial support, and he sent money, which was accepted by the child's maternal grandparents. However, after his mother remarried, they refused to take any further support. Over the past ten years, my husband has visited multiple times, both with and without me, but has only seen his son once.
We have no children of our own, and my husband believes that if his son lives with us, Allah may bless us with ease. Currently, I am the primary breadwinner, covering most expenses. The child is happy and excelling in both school and Islamic studies.
I acknowledge that this situation will be challenging for me. What are my rights and responsibilities in this matter according to Islamic teachings?
Answer 5
Question 6
I have been married for 12 years. My husband is wealthy but not a practicing Muslim. He constantly insults me, questioning what my parents have given me, even though my father has helped us a lot. Despite this, my husband continues to mentally torture me and does not respect or love me. He believes that simply providing three meals a day fulfills his responsibilities.
I am becoming increasingly depressed. Alhamdulillah, I perform my five daily prayers and try to follow Islam as much as possible.
He does not allow me to visit my parents, not even for eight days once a year. Is it true that after marriage, a wife is not allowed to care for her parents in Islam?
I am only staying with him for the sake of my 10-year-old son, but I am deeply confused. My husband does not fear Allah, nor does he listen to anyone. I have no hope left. Please advise me.
Answer 6
Question 7
I am a young woman who would really like to get married but my parents do not believe in arranged marriages. How should I explain to them that this is their obligation?
Answer 7
Question 8
My mother advises me not to look for marriage until I am independent and financially stable. I am currently jobless. I was sure that I wanted to marry a man, but I did not get my family’s support, which really drained me. I feel so bad for the guy, and I do not know what to do honestly.
Answer 8
Question 9
Is it the responsibility of the wife to cook, wash utensils, etc? And if not, will it come under the right of the husband over wife that she must be obedient to him? In other words, can he order her to do it and she must do it as it is his right that she be obedient to him?
Answer 9
Question 10
I would like to know the relationship that a husband and wife must have with their parents-in-law. I have read many articles talking extensively about the wife’s relationship with her husband’s parents, but none about the relationship of the husband with the wife’s parents. Is it that they are of equal importance? For example, after marriage, would it be permitted to spend equal time at both parents’ houses? Also, if the couple is living at the husband’s parents’ house and the wife wishes to spend time with her parents, would they have to seek permission from the husband’s parents?
In addition, I read recently in an article, I’m not sure if it was written by a Hanafi scholar, that a wife must forego her own parents for the husband’s parents and adopt them as her own, to the extent of prioritizing them over her own parents. I find this difficult, especially when you are an only child to your parents and they have no one else to help them. What would be the case when the parents are old and need someone to take care of them?
Answer 10