my wife complained to me 4times till now that My(husband's) Father always kisses to my wife on her cheeks & neck (some times repeatedly for 5-6times) and recently he had again kissed her on her lips, i dont know what to do, as i live abroad. and he does this when no other family member is infront. my family have 3more members, Mother, sister & brother. Please advice, shall i ask him?? is it permissible to ask a father about such acts?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

It is a grave sin that such a thing is done with desire by a man with one of his Mahram woman, because it is normally expected from a Mahram to protect the honour and dignity [of his Mahram relatives], so how can a rational person imagine that a father violates the honour and dignity of his son; this only happens to a person who is irreligious and whose Fitrah (natural disposition upon which Allaah created mankind) is corrupted.

Therefore, if what you mentioned in the question is confirmed that your father does such acts with your wife, then she is obliged to be firm with him and she should remind him of Allaah and threaten him to disclose the matter. Then, if he abstains from doing so, then this is what is required, otherwise she should not let him be in seclusion with her and the like; rather, she should treat him as a non-Mahram, in which case, she should wear Hijab in front of him; for more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 92408.

However, you should not ask your father about such a behavior, as this may lead to some disadvantages, and this will lead to greater problems which may even affect your marital life.

On the other hand, if you can take your wife to reside with you, then do so, otherwise you are obliged to leave her in a safe place, like with her family for example.

Finally, it should be noted that a husband is not permitted to be absent from his wife more than six months except with her permission; for more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 85711.

Allaah Knows best.