How can one definitively get rid of the obsessive thoughts (waswas) related to filial piety (birr al-walidayn) and general ideological and religious obsessive thoughts? And what is the difference between filial piety (birr al-walidayn) and obedience to parents? How is filial piety (birr) to be observed, and what are the limits of obedience? Is it permissible for an adult son to choose his clothes, his wife, and his profession, and to manage his life affairs without parental interference? What is the ruling on obeying parents if they command disobedience, or something that contradicts obedience to Allah and His Messenger, or something that causes harm, or a matter pertaining to the adult son, such as marriage, work, or clothing? What is the treatment for ideological and religious obsessive thoughts, their source, and ways to prevent them?
The Sharia commanded filial piety towards parents and obedience to them in what is good. However, obedience is not obligatory in disobedience to the Creator, or in what harms the child, or in what does not benefit the parents and does not harm the child. Therefore, parents do not have the right to compel their child to marry someone they do not desire. Indeed, eating something disliked is a bitterness of an hour, while living with a disliked spouse harms the one enduring it. The treatment for obsessive thoughts (waswasa) is to turn away from them, seek Allah's help, and frequently supplicate.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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