Wants to avoid influence of in-laws who wear and encourage wearing amulets
Fatwa No: 88119

Question

My husband's parents wear amulets and I know they ate shirk. Allah (swt) has granted my husband the wisdom to get rid of this, but they keep on trying to force it on him. We have told them many times that this is wrong and I am worried that this will effect my married life and my daughter's life as well. Currently we are in a different country from them but if they ask us to move back then I would not like to go as they are very interfering.
Can my husband serve them by any means other than visiting them? If we visit them rather than moving back to their country is it sufficient? Am I wrong to keep my husband and daughter from potential family stress and tension among us? I would appreciate an early response to clarify these uncertainties.

Answer

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

The right of parents in Islam is great, and being kind and dutiful to them are acts by which a person gets nearer to Allah. The best act of kindness and being dutiful to one's parents is to be a means of saving them from shirk and every thing that leads to it. Your husband has to do his best to convince his parents to give up wearing these amulets especially if they contain anything that is not Quran.

The prophet said. "Incantations, amulets and Tawla are shirk" Tawla is something that the jugglers use claiming that it make the man love his wife or the opposite." Reported by Abu Dawud.

You have to help your husband in carrying out this mission (duty).

As regards the issue of residing with  your husband's parents if they ask this, then you do not have to refuse them, as your husband has to obey his parents if he is able to do so and is not harmed by doing so and if there is no great hardship in that.

Imam Muslim reported in his Hadith that Abdullah Ibn Omar said: "A man came to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam), asking him permission to go for Jihad, so the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) asked him "Are your parents alive?" The man replied "yes". So the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) told him: "Make Jihad in your parents."

Besides Abu Dawud reported that Abu Saeed Al-Khudri may Allah be pleased with him, said that a man made migration to the prophet from Yemen. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) asked him: do you have any relatives in Yemen? The man replied "yes" my parents”. There upon, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) asked him; "did they give you permission?" He said, "No". Then the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam)   told him: "Return to them and seek their permission. If they give you permission, then make Jihad, if not be kind and dutiful to them". Al Albani said that "this Hadith is authentic."

So if a man is ordered to stay with his parents unless they give him permission to make Jihad, then it is more appropriate for him to obey them in other matters.

However, it is forbidden for your husband to obey his parents in wearing amulets or doing any other act of disobedience.      

Allah knows best.

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