The Right of the Mother to See Her Traveling Daughter

Question:
Also, this message is from Fatimah Muhammad from the city of Abha. She says: “As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh to the Honorable Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz. I am presenting my problem to you, hoping that Allah, and then you, will find a solution for me. She says: In fact, I am informing you that I have a maternal sister who married a man and bore him a daughter, then he divorced her. She then married another man whom she does not want, and neither do we, especially my mother, but her paternal brothers are the ones who forced her. When her husband arrived, my mother refused to go to him or to point out my sister’s location. After that, he settled near us without informing us. When my mother learned that he had come to see my sister, my sister said to my mother, “You are not my mother because you did not come to me for the marriage.” My mother said, “I did not come to you except to see you and to maintain family ties.” After a short time, her husband traveled with her to a city far from us. He forbade my mother from seeing her daughter, and from seeing us as well. He did not inform us of the job he is in, nor did he give us the phone number so that my mother could call and check on her. It is known that my sister said to my mother, “When I travel, I will make you cry for me, and you are the one who sends for me.” We ask you, Honorable Shaykh, to tell us what my mother should do. Does my mother really have the right to send for her? Knowing that the parents have a right over us, their children, and that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) specified that the mother has a greater right than the father. We ask for your guidance, may Allah grant you success?”

Answer:
In any case, the mother has a great right, and being dutiful to her is obligatory. Being dutiful to her is greater than being dutiful to the father. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked, he said to him: She has three-quarters, and he has one-quarter. But this daughter, meaning, she behaved badly. She left without meeting her, without bidding her farewell, and without informing her of her location. So there is no blame on the mother in this situation. If she does not write to her because she does not know her location, there is no blame on her in this situation. It is obligatory for the daughter who traveled to write to her mother, to ask about her condition, to make much du'a' (supplication) for her, and to maintain ties with her. This is part of being dutiful. So the sin is on the daughter who fell short in her mother’s rights if she did not write to her, did not correspond with her, and did not maintain ties with her. As for the mother, there is nothing required of her in this situation because she does not know her location, and her right is greater. If the mother seeks reward from Allah and asks about her until she knows her location, and writes to her or calls her on the phone to ask about her condition, this is a good deed and part of maintaining family ties, and it has a great impact. And if her daughter falls short, she does not fall short; she does what is best. Because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “The one who maintains ties is not the one who reciprocates, but the one who maintains ties when his kinship is cut off.” This is truly the one who maintains ties. The one who maintains ties in the most perfect way is the one who maintains ties with the one who cut them off. For this reason, he (may Allah’s prayers and blessings be upon him) said: Yes.