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Is a Muslim woman permitted to obey her polytheistic parents, and can she marry without their permission?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Allah Almighty has commanded kindness to parents and showing gratitude to them. However, it is not permissible to obey them if they command shirk (associating partners with Allah) or disobedience, as in the story of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas with his mother. A Muslim girl must obey her polytheist parents as long as they do not command her to commit kufr (disbelief) or disobedience. As for marriage, she is not required to seek their permission because they have no guardianship over her, due to Allah Almighty's saying: "And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a way (to triumph) over the believers," and due to the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Islam is exalted and nothing is exalted above it." A Muslim guardian will arrange her marriage, and if none is available, a judge will undertake it.

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

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