Is It Sinful To Disobey My Mother’s Request Not To Allow Her Dog Outside?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
I live with my non-Muslim mother’s two dogs. They were making a lot of annoying noise; I presume to be taken out. After my mother told me not to, I lifted the fence to my kitchen for them to go outside on the balcony. The noise went down. Is this sinful?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
It is generally obligatory to obey one’s mother’s request as long as it does not contradict Islam’s Sacred law. This obligation is compounded if one lives in one’s mother’s home.
One of the Companions (Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) and asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, who is most deserving of my beautiful companionship?’ He said, “Your mother.” The man proclaimed, ‘Then, who?’ He said, “Your mother.” The man proclaimed, ‘Then, who?’ He said, “Your mother.” The man proclaimed, ‘Then, who?’ He said, “Your father. Thereafter, the next nearest, then, the next nearest.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
Knowing that this is against her wishes, for you to let the dog out is sinful. It is sufficient to repent to Allah Most High and seek your mother’s forgiveness.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
