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What is the religious ruling on a 37-year-old unmarried female doctor remaining in her parents' home to care for her mother and her sister, who suffers from polio, given that her other sister, who suffers from inflammatory neuropathy, is asking to move in with them along with her disobedient daughters, knowing that this move will increase the burden on the girl and threaten her professional and personal future? Is it permissible for her to travel for study and leave her mother with this burden?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

As soon as the father passes away, the house becomes an inheritance, and the eldest sister has a share in it if she has not already taken her share, and it is not permissible to prevent her from living in it. As for the father's promise during his lifetime, it has no effect. Her husband does not have the right to evict her from the house or force her to live with you, as she has the right to maintenance and housing from him, and her daughters must take care of her. However, if her husband abandons her and she requests to live with you, this is not forbidden, provided that her daughters take care of her. It is not permissible for the adressee to neglect her mother's care, nor is it permissible for her to leave the house and travel for study or other purposes if her mother needs her and there is no one else to care for her. It is not permissible for a woman to travel or reside alone without a mahram. A person's success in righteousness and obedience to Allah, and honoring and caring for one's mother, are among the greatest acts of obedience and means of attaining Allah's pleasure and success.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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