Neglect of the father toward his daughters and leaving them unmarried

We now move on to a message received by the program from a group of five female listeners. Their message is lengthy, and its summary is: Your Eminence, the Shaykh, they complain of a family dispute between the daughters and their father and their paternal grandmother, due to the lack of attention given to the five daughters, the youngest of whom is twenty-two years old and they have not yet married. The father is far from the home and does not come except like a visitor, and the mother is considering divorce. They ask for guidance if you would be kind, Your Eminence, the Shaykh?
Answer: It is obligatory for their father to fear Allah the Exalted and Sublime, to pay attention to them and care for them, to visit them frequently, and to check on their conditions. This is his duty. He is responsible for them and is their guardian, so he must fear Allah in this matter and strive to marry them off. If a Muslim man who is suitable for them proposes to them, he must strive to marry them to him, even if he is not perfect or if he has some sins, as long as he is a Muslim, he should marry them to him. This is because leaving them unmarried involves great danger. If they consult with them or inform them of his condition and they are pleased, he marries them to him. However, he must not marry them to a disbeliever; he marries them to a Muslim, even if there is some deficiency in the form of some sins. But if he finds a good man, a suitable match who is sound, modest, and has no sins, he is preferred over others, and he is a great prize. But in any case, he must care for them and present the best of the Muslim suitors, one after another, and strive to be careful to cover them and keep them away from fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) and the causes of fitnah. The grandmother, the father’s mother, should also help in this good and say to her son: “Fear Allah regarding your daughters.” If they have uncles, they should also advise the daughters’ father and strive to guide him to good so that he does not neglect his daughters. This is the obligatory cooperation of everyone: cooperation in righteousness and piety. If their mother is present, she should also advise their father with kind words and a good manner so that he does not cause a divorce. She should strive, the woman who is their mother and the grandmother who is their father’s mother, and likewise, if they have aunts or uncles, they should participate in this good. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.