Question
A wife is of a pious nature. However, the parents demand from his son to divorce her? Is it necessary to fulfil their demand? Can we also request them not to slander her?
Answer
If you find no just reason for such a demand, then you should courteously refuse to do so. Our duty to our parents is to respect and honour them, and respect their right opinions. The basic principle is justice. So, an unjust demand regarding one’s wife will have no weight. Oppression, either on part of the parents or spouse is unacceptable. The Qur’an clearly commands us to take a stand against our parents and relatives for justice. It is absolutely unreasonable to divorce one’s God fearing spouse just for somebody’s pleasure. It is definitely not disobedience of parents. Again, subservience to the Almighty overrules all other authorities. We are not obliged to observe any order contradictory to the Divine commands. Oppression of any sort is unacceptable. Obedience to Allah takes precedence over obedience to parents. Neither the spouse nor the parents have a priority over the other. The defining principle is justice.
This question was answered by Mr Ghamidi in Deen-o-Danish, an online TV session hosted by Dr Muneer Ahmad aired on Dunay TV. The text has been rendered into English by Mr Dhu al-Nurain.
Answered by: Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
Date: 2015-02-05
