Wife loving her mother more than her husband
Fatwa No: 322540

Question

In Islam, is it a sin for a woman to love her mother more then her husband?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

We do not know of any religious text that indicates that it is incumbent on the woman to love her husband more than her mother. We could not find any statement of the Muslim scholars to this effect. There is no doubt that the wife's obedience to her husband is given priority over her obedience to her parents. However, this does not entail that the woman is obliged to love her husband more than her parents, especially given that love and affection are matters of the heart over which one has no control. Therefore, we believe that the woman bears no sin if she loves her mother more than her husband. Allaah, The Exalted, mentioned the love and affection for the parents before those for the spouses; He says (what means): {Say, (O Muhammad): If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allaah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allaah executes His command. And Allaah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.} [Quran 9:24]

Ibn Hayyaan commented on the verse, saying, "The verse mentioned the parents first because the Muslim is enjoined to show love, dutifulness, and respect for them, and then it mentioned the children because their love overwhelms the hearts. After mentioning the ancestors and descendants, the verse mentioned the siblings and then the spouses, who are like the children in terms of love and preference. Then, the verse mentioned other relatives of one's extended family..."

Allaah knows best.

Related Fatwa