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Is obedience to one's mother obligatory in all her requests, especially if she asks out of a desire for revenge, envy, or cunning, or if she harbors ill-will towards others and seeks to prevent her children from gathering or building successful social relationships?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The mother's right is great, and honoring her and obeying her in what is good is among the most obligatory duties, while disobeying her is among the greatest major sins. If a mother orders her child to do something that does not involve disobedience to Allah, and she has a valid purpose in it, and it does not harm the child; then it is obligatory for the child to obey her in it, even if it involves hardship. So, if the mother orders to tidy a closet or similar household chores, obedience is obligatory as long as the child is able. It is not permissible to disobey the mother under the pretense of revenge or envy, for this is a false accusation and manifest injustice, as Allah Almighty says: "O you who have believed, avoid much [negative] assumption. Indeed, some assumption is sin," and the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the falsest of speech." The default is to think well of Muslims, so how about a mother who is the most merciful of people towards her child? Therefore, fear Allah and think well of your mother, and strive to honor her.

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

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