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Fatwa CenterHow to deal with stepmother and stepbrother
Question
how should ones behaviour be towards a step mother and stepbrother according to koran and sunna.
Answer
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, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
One’s stepmother should be honored and treated kindly because this is an act of honoring one’s father, as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “One of the best acts of dutifulness is a man’s kind treatment of the loved ones of his father.” [Muslim]
There are some rulings related to one’s stepmother including the eternal forbiddance of marrying her, as Allaah The Almighty Said (what means): {And do not marry those [women] whom your fathers married, except what has already occurred. Indeed, it was an immorality and hateful [to Allaah] and was evil as a way.}[Quran 4:23]
One must also provide for his stepmother if his father was unable to provide for her. This is during the life of the father but not after his death.
With regard to the stepbrother, he is a blood relative and one must maintain kinship ties with him. He is also considered a Mahram to his stepsister. Hence, it is permissible for him to be in seclusion with her, shake hands with her, travel with her, beside other relevant rulings of the Mahrams. Allaah The Almighty Said (what means): {and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers…}[Quran 24:31]
The rulings that are mentioned in this verse apply to full brothers, half-brothers on the father’s side and half-brothers on the mother’s side.
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