What is the ruling on divorcing one's wife in response to the parents' request, under the pretext of her having served them in the past, and would that be considered disobedience to parents, given that the wife is currently living honorably and respected?
Obeying parents is obligatory in matters that do not involve disobedience (to Allah) and that benefit them without harming the child. However, in matters that do not benefit them, or that harm the child, obedience is not obligatory. Allah has coupled the command to be kind to them with His worship, but divorcing one's wife without a legitimate reason is disliked by Allah.
If parents ask their son to divorce his wife, then either there is a legitimate Sharia reason that necessitates the divorce, such as her having bad manners, in which case obedience is obligatory. Or, the request is due to jealousy or personal whim without a legitimate Sharia reason, in which case the son is not obliged to obey his parents in the divorce. He must deal with them gently and kindly, while keeping his wife, especially if she is upright in her faith and character. He should also honor his parents without divorcing his wife, because "obedience is only in what is right and proper."
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 12596
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy