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What are the limits of obedience to parents if their commands are arbitrary, considering that obedience to them is obligatory unless it involves disobedience to Allah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Obedience to parents is one of the greatest acts of proximity to Allah, but it is restricted by their not commanding disobedience to Allah, and that there be a benefit for them in it without harm to the child. Jurists have stipulated that obedience to them is not obligatory in certain permissible matters, such as divorcing one's wife, eating what one dislikes, or marrying someone one does not desire. Ibn Taymiyyah narrated a consensus on the latter two. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab said in Mukhtasar al-Insaf: "Obedience to parents is obligatory in matters that are not sinful. Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah said: This is regarding matters in which there is benefit for them and no harm to him. If it is difficult for him but does not harm him, then it is obligatory upon him; otherwise, it is not."

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

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