How can a person balance pleasing his mother, who chose his wife for him, with achieving his marital happiness, which has become on the verge of collapse, especially after his relationship with both of them became strained, and he considered divorce because of this conflict?

We advise you to strive in obeying your mother, to preserve your wife’s rights by treating her with kindness, and to be deliberate in judging married life. What happened between you and your wife is not due to a lack of love. Do not give any credence to your mother’s words about your wife, and do not lend her an ear that would corrupt your home. It is not an obligatory obedience to obey her if she commands you to divorce your wife. If you feel that the mother of your children is not sufficient for you, you may marry a second wife if you are capable of providing for her, cohabiting with her, and treating her justly.