Wa alaikum salaam wa rahmatulahi wa barakahtuh,

 

Alhamdulillah, you have been blessed with marriage and children, but are a little concerned about how to be with your husband’s 16-year-old Christian son from a previous marriage who is coming to visit.

 

Of course, the most important thing to begin with to keep things correct is to behave in the most appropriate way Islamically. As he is not your mahram, you should adhere to Islamic guidelines and make sure to not be in a scenario where you will be alone together. Also, make sure to remain dressed appropriately when in his presence.

 

This can easily be attained by planning ahead. With your husband beforehand make a plan of things you can do whilst he is there, be that going out together as a family, or doing something at home together. This is also important for your own children in developing a healthy relationship with Their big brother. As their mother, you should encourage such to create strong bonds and family ties between them that they can maintain into adulthood.

 

This time together can enable you to find out more about him and his interests as well as being positive role models for Islam also. Without being forceful about religion, he can see Islam practiced naturally and in sha Allah come to see the beauty of the Deen. Perhaps he will become curious and ask further questions about Islam that will open his heart to the religion.

 

You might also think to ask your husband thinks about what kind of food he likes so you can prepare ahead accordingly and ensure a smooth visit.

 

Aside from spending time together as a family, you should also allow your husband and him to spend some time alone together. This will be beneficial in allowing them to develop their own relationship too following what may have been a difficult time of separation during the divorce process with his ex-wife.

 

From here, perhaps you could organise a plan for future visits also to maintain regular contact with him allowing your husband and children especially to bind with him and for you all to always be prepared for when he will next come to visit that you can plan to do things that will be beneficial as well as entertaining for you all.

 

May Allah make the visit a success and may He increase the ties of kinship between the family.