Does a man divorce his wife to please his mother?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The questioner says: A disagreement occurred between my wife and my mother, and as a result, my wife and I left the house. I have children from this wife, so should I divorce her to please my mother?
The Shaykh : This is an important issue, because some mothers, when they see that their son loves his wife, become jealous of it. They create problems between the man and his wife. The situation may even reach the point where the mother says to her son: "Either you divorce your wife, or I will be angry with you." We say that it is not obligatory for the husband to divorce his wife to please his mother, or to please his father, as long as the wife is upright in character and there is no defect in her religion or in her chastity.
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about this issue regarding a man whose father ordered him to divorce his wife. Imam Ahmad said: "Do not divorce her." The questioner said: "But Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was ordered by his father, 'Umar, to divorce his wife, and Ibn 'Umar asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who ordered him to divorce her in compliance with his father's order." Imam Ahmad said to him: "Is your father like 'Umar ibn al-Khattab?" Meaning that a father cannot order his son to divorce his wife except for a legitimate religious reason.
As for the rest of the fathers, they may order their sons to divorce their wives for a non-religious reason, which may be for a personal reason. Likewise, a mother may order the divorce of her son's wife for a personal purpose, not for a religious reason. Based on this, we say to this questioner: If your wife is upright in her religion and chaste in her character, do not divorce her. However, it is possible to resolve the conflict between her and your mother through advice and guidance. If the situation improves, that is well; otherwise, keep her in one house and keep your mother in another house, and the problem will be resolved.
The Shaykh : This is an important issue, because some mothers, when they see that their son loves his wife, become jealous of it. They create problems between the man and his wife. The situation may even reach the point where the mother says to her son: "Either you divorce your wife, or I will be angry with you." We say that it is not obligatory for the husband to divorce his wife to please his mother, or to please his father, as long as the wife is upright in character and there is no defect in her religion or in her chastity.
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about this issue regarding a man whose father ordered him to divorce his wife. Imam Ahmad said: "Do not divorce her." The questioner said: "But Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was ordered by his father, 'Umar, to divorce his wife, and Ibn 'Umar asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who ordered him to divorce her in compliance with his father's order." Imam Ahmad said to him: "Is your father like 'Umar ibn al-Khattab?" Meaning that a father cannot order his son to divorce his wife except for a legitimate religious reason.
As for the rest of the fathers, they may order their sons to divorce their wives for a non-religious reason, which may be for a personal reason. Likewise, a mother may order the divorce of her son's wife for a personal purpose, not for a religious reason. Based on this, we say to this questioner: If your wife is upright in her religion and chaste in her character, do not divorce her. However, it is possible to resolve the conflict between her and your mother through advice and guidance. If the situation improves, that is well; otherwise, keep her in one house and keep your mother in another house, and the problem will be resolved.
Source
دروس وفتاوى المسجد الحرام لعام 1406هـ - 9 — binothaimeen.net (30:42)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.