What is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "O you who believe! Indeed, among your wives and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them"?

The questioner : May Allah forgive you: Allah Blessed and Exalted is He says: We ask for clarification of the enmity and the direction of the caution? May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : Allah the Exalted said: The enmity intended here is that one's wife and children become the cause of his deviation from the religion of Allah; this is the greatest enmity. This occurs in some people who are weak in religion and personality; you find him to be a husband to a woman and a slave to her in another aspect, doing whatever she wants, and likewise regarding his children. The enmity may also be worldly; the wife may be sharp-tongued, extort his money, harm him, and make his life difficult, and likewise the children. And His saying: means: take your caution with vigilance, monitoring, and careful observation, so that they do not harm you, because the general rule is that an enemy is harmful to his enemy unless he guards against him and monitors him. But praise be to Allah that in the verse, Allah did not say: "Indeed, your wives and your children," He said: "among," and "among" indicates partiality, and the part may be the majority or the minority.