How can one deal with a stepmother who is ill-mannered and ill-tempered, and with whom kindness in words is ineffective, in order to achieve proper conduct and embody the ethics of the Pious Predecessors and the Companions?

The questioner, who wishes to embody the manners and ethics of the righteous predecessors, is advised to read or listen about the virtue of good morals and their importance. He should bear in mind the status of his stepmother, for Allah has made her one of his mahārim (unmarriageable kin), and it is her right to be honored and treated well; indeed, showing kindness to her is considered an act of filial piety towards one's father. If he faces harshness or ill-treatment from her, he should respond with patience and counter evil with good, for this may transform enmity into friendship, as Allah Almighty says: "And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that which is better; then suddenly, he to whom between you and him was enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend."