Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The mother’s status in sharee’ah cannot be denied. Allaah has
enjoined that her children should honour her, and He has forbidden them to
disobey her; He has ruled that the mother is the most entitled of people to
one’s good company, as it says in the well-known hadeeth, when a man said: O
Messenger of Allaah, which of the people is most deserving of my good
companionship? He said: “Your mother, then your mother, then your mother,
then your father, then the next closest and the next closest.” Narrated by
Muslim (2548).
This is the mother’s right, and that is her status. It is not
permissible for her to consume her children’s wealth unlawfully, rather she
must give each one his or her rights, and divide the estate in accordance
with the laws of Allaah. It is also not permissible for the mother to incite
her daughter against her husband and spoil the good relationship between
them. These actions of this mother are evil deeds which are not acceptable
in Islam, and they bring the threat of sin and punishment.
Perhaps the greatest way in which you can honour your mother
is by deterring her from consuming haraam wealth and doing haraam things,
and stopping her from wronging people unlawfully, and remind her of the sin
involved in spoiling the relationship between husband and wife, and the sin
of gheebah (backbiting), reviling and insulting others, and other haraam
things that she is doing, such as tabarruj (wanton display) and travelling
without a mahram, if these are true in her case.
With regard to your siblings who want your mother to live
with you and your husband, you are not obliged to do that according to
sharee’ah, rather it is the duty of your mother, and in this case the right
belongs to your husband: if he agrees to that, all well and good, otherwise
you are not obliged to do this, rather we do not advise your husband to
accept this situation, because they are not neglected or in need of such a
thing, they are not poor and in need of someone to spend on them, and your
mother is not unable to take care of their affairs. Taking this
responsibility from her is helping her to do the things that she is doing
that go against Islam, and to neglect her duties, and pass on this burden to
your husband, and put pressure on you and your household with something that
is not required of you in the first place, let alone the unacceptable things
that may result from your sister living in the same house as a man who is
not her mahram (your husband). We do not advise you to accept this situation
under any circumstances.
Secondly:
The status and rights of the mother do not supersede the
rights of the husband, rather the husband’s rights are greater and take
precedence over your mother’s rights. Your obedience to him takes precedence
over your obedience to her, and the wise wife strives to please her husband
by doing what he wants so long as it is not contrary to sharee’ah, and she
strives to honour her mother in ways that do not go against her husband’s
commands. If there is a conflict of interest, then she should put her
husband’s commands and wishes first.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)
was asked about a woman who got married, and was no longer under her
parents’ care. Which is better – honouring her parents or obeying her
husband?
He replied: When a woman gets married, her husband has more
authority over her than her parents, and obeying her husband is more
obligatory for her. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient (to Allaah and to their
husbands), and guard in the husband’s absence what Allaah orders them to
guard (e.g. their chastity and their husband’s property)” [al-Nisa’ 4:34].
And in a hadeeth the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “This world is temporary conveniences and the best of its
comforts is a believing wife, who when you look at her she pleases you and
if you tell her to do something she obeys you, and if you are away from her
she protects you with regard to herself and your wealth.”. In Saheeh Abi
Haatim it is narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a woman offers
her five (daily prayers) and fasts her month and guards her chastity and
obeys her husband, she will enter Paradise from whichever of its gates she
wants.” In al-Tirmidhi it is narrated that Umm Salamah (may Allaah be
pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: Any woman who dies when her husband is pleased
with her, will enter Paradise.” This was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said
it is a hasan hadeeth. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If I were to order
anyone to prostrate to anyone, I would have ordered women to prostrate to
their husbands.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi who said it is a hasan hadeeth. It
was also narrated by Abu Dawood with the wording: “I would have ordered
women to prostrate to their husbands because of the rights that Allaah has
given them over them.” In al-Musnad it is narrated from Anas that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is not
acceptable for any human to prostrate to another, but if it were acceptable
for any human to prostrate to another, I would have ordered women to
prostrate to their husbands, because of the greatness of the rights they
have over them. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if there were sores
from his feet to the top of his head flowing with pus, then she licked them,
she would not have given him all his rights.”
And he quoted ahaadeeth about the virtue of obeying the
husband.
There are many ahaadeeth on this topic from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Zayd ibn Thaabit said: The
husband is a sayyid (lord or master) in the Book of Allaah. Then he quoted
the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “They both found her lord
(i.e. her husband) at the door” [Yoosuf 12:25]. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab
said: Marriage is slavery, so let one of you look to whom he is giving his
beloved daughter to be a slave to. In al-Tirmidhi and elsewhere it is
narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “I urge you to treat women well, for they are like prisoners with
you.”
So the woman is like a slave of her husband, or like a
prisoner; she should not go out of his house without his permission, whether
she is told to do so by her father, her mother or anyone else, according to
scholarly consensus.
If a man wants to take her to another place, so long as he is
doing what is required of him, and observing the sacred limits of Allaah
with regard to her, and her father tells her not to obey him in that, then
she must obey her husband and not her father, because in that case the
parents are wrongdoers, and they have no right to tell her not to obey
someone like this husband, and she does not have the right to obey her
mother if she tells her to leave him or to cause trouble to him so that he
will divorce her, such as demanding more maintenance and more clothing, and
demanding (the deferred portion of) her mahr so that he may divorce her. It
is not permissible for her to obey either of her parents by divorcing him if
he fears Allaah with regard to her.
In the four Sunans and Saheeh Ibn Abi Haatim it
is narrated that Thawbaan said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Any woman who asks her husband for a
divorce when there is nothing wrong, the fragrance of Paradise will be
forbidden to her.” According to another hadeeth: “The women who ask for
khula’ and the women who make a wanton display of themselves are indeed
hypocrites.”
But if both or one of her parents tells her to do something
that involves obedience to Allaah, such as praying regularly, speaking the
truth and fulfilling trusts, and tells her not to squander or waste her
money, and other things that have been enjoined or forbidden by Allaah and
His Messenger, then she must obey them in that, even if the command comes
from someone other than her parents, so how about if it comes from her
parents?
If her husband tells her not to do something that is enjoined
by Allaah, and he tells her to do something that Allaah has forbidden, then
she should not obey him in that. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no obedience to any created being if it
involves disobedience towards the Creator.” If a master orders his slave to
do something that involves disobedience towards Allaah, it is not
permissible for him to obey him by disobeying Him, so how can a woman obey
her husband or one of her parents by committing sin? All goodness is in
obeying Allaah and His Messenger, and all evil is in disobeying Allaah and
His Messenger. End quote. Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (32/261-264).
This is a strong answer based on knowledge, and it is
sufficient to explain what is meant, which is that it is not permissible for
your mother to spoil the relationship between you and your husband, and it
is not permissible for you to obey her in that, and your husband’s right to
your obedience is greater than your mother’s.
Thirdly:
Just as you are not obliged to take care of any of your
siblings because of your commitment of your husband and the requirement that
he should first agree to that, the same applies to your visiting your mother
with your children. This is not permissible except with the consent of your
husband, and you have done well to refuse your mother’s request. We affirm
that this refusal is Islamically acceptable, especially since you have no
mahram to travel with you.
With regard to limiting the number of your mother’s visits to
you, this is something that is also up to your husband, and you can work it
out with him. The husband has the right to prevent anyone who he thinks is a
trouble-maker from entering his house, even if they are your family. As you
are in agreement and you have a good relationship, then the matter is
simple. All you have to do is agree on a specific number and time for her
visits, and stipulate that to her. Your husband has every right to do this;
indeed we think that if he stops her altogether he will be doing the right
thing, but there is the hope that if her visits are restricted to only a
few, and do not affect your family’s happiness, then there is no reason why
they should be prevented, and there is nothing wrong with tolerating them.
Determining the limit is up to you and you should consult one another and
come to some agreement.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: “And not allow into your houses anyone whom you dislike”
means, they (wives) should not allow anyone to enter the house if you (the
husband) do not want him or her to enter, even if it is her mother or her
father. It is not permissible for her to let her mother, father, sister,
brother, paternal uncle, maternal uncle, paternal aunt or maternal aunt into
her husband’s house, if he objects to that. Attention is drawn to this
because some women – Allaah forbid – are bad even to their daughters. If
they see that the daughters are settled and happy with their husbands, they
become jealous – Allaah forbid – even though they are mothers, and they try
to spoil things between the daughter and her husband. So the husband has the
right to stop such a mother from entering his house, and he has the right to
say to his wife: She should not enter my house. He has the right to prevent
her according to sharee’ah, and he has the right to prevent his wife from
going to see her, because she is namaamah (one who spreads malicious gossip)
and a troublemaker. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “No spreader of malicious gossip will enter Paradise.” End quote.
Sharh Riyaadh al-Saaliheen (2/91, hadeeth no. 276),
Fourthly:
It seems that the sin of the riba-based loan that is
mentioned in your question is borne by you, because you were an adult and
responsible for your dealings. So try to get back what is rightfully yours
from your mother, and stop the mounting interest payments that result from
your delay in repaying it. Try not to pay back anything but the original
amount without the interest (riba). If you are not able to do that, then
there is no blame on you, but it is essential to repent sincerely, because
riba is a major sin.
We ask Allaah to guide your mother and to reconcile between
you and your husband.
See also the answer to question no.
96665 which discusses the reasons
why mothers interfere in the lives of their married daughters, and ways of
dealing with that.
And Allaah knows best.
