Is the patience shown by the questioner in enduring the hardship and suffering she faces with her in-laws, and her feeling that what is happening to her is a result of her sins, considered praiseworthy patience in Islam? And is her presence in the family home without a mahram, her living with a polytheistic mother-in-law who practices polytheistic rituals in the same house, and her informing her husband of what bothers her about his mother's actions, considered sins requiring repentance? And is honoring a disbelieving mother of the same degree as honoring a Muslim mother?

There is no harm in a woman living with her husband's brothers and relatives if the house is spacious and they do not share facilities. There is also no objection to living with a disbelieving mother when there is a need. Informing the husband about his mother's abusive behavior is not considered forbidden backbiting. A disbelieving mother must be honored just like a Muslim mother, but a Muslim mother has the added right of Islamic brotherhood. What the questioner is doing by enduring this has a great status with Allah, and it is considered a trial that expiates sins and elevates ranks. The questioner should urge her husband to move into a separate house to avoid mixing and to protect the children.