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My father forged divorce papers for second marriage and isn’t supporting my mother. Should I help her take legal action?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Askimam.org

I have a very serious and important question. My father may have forged papers to make it seem as if my parents were divorced, so that he can get married to another lady. He has stopped supporting me and my family financially since his marriage. For six years, we have starved and asked my mom’s family for financial support. The situation is getting harder and harder because my sisters are growing up.

I now live with my father because I can’t afford to go to college overseas where my mom and sisters are. Here I am able to go to school free of charge. My mom has tried over these past six years to ask my father for money, any amount… but refuses claiming he doesn’t have.

My mom is looking to get financial support from the government but she wants to make sure that my dad wasn’t married to her and his wife at the same time. As you may know, when a divorce happens in america, the father is ordered to give child support to the mother. But that never happened for us. So she wants me to look for his marriage and divorce certificates and make copies to give to her.

Now is this haram to do? Is it haram doing something to get our rights as human beings even if he could get in trouble or go to jail? My mom’s intentions are to get my sisters’ financial support, food, and not live so poor. She wants to make sure my sisters’ have a bright future ahead.

They currently wear each other’s clothes and have little food for weeks until they can get money. Her family gives her 200 dollars a month. What can be done regarding this situation?

Is it haram to seek government support even if it could cause him some trouble?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Respected brother/sister in Islam,

We are sorry to hear about the difficulties that you are facing. May Allah Talaa help you overcome the challenges you are facing.

The principle issue is to determine whether there is oppression taking place by your father for not supporting your mother and your siblings. To determine that, it is important that we know the background of the dispute and why your parents are living apart from each other.

We advise you seek the assistance of an Alim in your locality and explain to him all the details. He will analyse the issue and advise you accordingly.

Continue making dua to Allah to guide you towards whatever is best for the entire family. You should also respect both your parents and do not get embroiled in their disputes.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Ismail Dawoodjee

Student Darul Iftaa
Zambia

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

www.daruliftaa.net 

This answer was collected from Askimam.org, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa.

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