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Do children sin by leaving their elderly parents to live alone, and must one of the children return to Egypt to care for them, given the parents' refusal to move and live with one of their children outside the country?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

There is no harm in leaving parents alone if they are in good health and do not require care, and they do not show any objection to their children's travel. However, if a need arises for them, it becomes obligatory for the children to cooperate in fulfilling their needs appropriately, for the maintenance of needy parents is, by consensus, incumbent upon their well-off children. It is preferable to live near parents when they are elderly, due to its positive effect on their happiness and tranquility, just as Allah bestowed upon some of His servants "sons present [with them]." This obligation and recommendation ceases if staying with the parents results in harm, such as the loss of means of livelihood and the inability to provide for one's children, spouses, and dependents.

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

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