What is the ruling of Islamic law regarding a wife's refusal to stay overnight at her husband's family's house, and the husband's insistence on taking their son, who is not yet two years old and is still breastfeeding? And is it permissible for the wife to sit with her husband's brothers at the same table and converse with them?
The husband does not have the right to take the infant child from the mother to spend the night with him at his parents' house. The husband's brothers are not mahrams, and Islamic law has warned against a woman being lenient with non-mahram relatives of the husband, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Beware of entering upon women." A man from the Ansar said: "O Messenger of Allah, what about the in-law?" He said: "The in-law is death." It is not permissible for the spouses to sit with the husband's brothers and their wives for casual conversation and laughter. The husband's parents do not have the right to interfere in the couple's affairs except by advising them to do what is good. The husband's parents do not have the right to force the wife to live with them, and the wife has the right to a suitable independent dwelling. The husband must honor and treat his parents well without diminishing the wife's rights or causing her distress.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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