MahaMonday: Marriage & caring for elderly parents

February 9, 2015 - Maha Monday - Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

elderly parentsA gentleman at Chai Latte Diaries asks me how to address the challenges of marriage while he cares for his elderly parents who live with him:

From a Muslim angle, your wife has every right to ask for a private living space of her own, if it can be afforded. This has to be balanced with our obligation to take care of our elders, and no matter that it is ‘normal and good’ for one to take care of one’s parents, it is not so for one to take care of another individual’s parents. To do this, is to go above and beyond one’s duties to their wife / husband and falls into the realm of love and attention which we provide those who are the beloveds of our own loved ones.

Your duty to one another is to support one another in your individual responsibilities to your parents. It is important to note that the expectation (and anticipated acceptance to do so) of residing with one’s parents after marriage is a cultural obligation and not a religious one.

Comments here closed; all (private and public) comments welcome over at Chai Latte Diaries.