Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Islam teaches balance between obedience to one’s husband and maintaining family ties. If a brother has repented for his past sins, a wife may maintain limited, respectful contact with him while observing safety and her husband’s reasonable boundaries. Total severance is not required unless harm persists.
Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Your brother committed a most heinous sin. Your husband is justified in feeling upset about the horror. The girl he molested needs to undergo therapy to recover from the traumatic experiences she was exposed to at his hands.
If your brother has repented and changed, you may reconnect with him while taking care he is kept away from interacting with the minors.
While your husband can stop him from visiting you, he should not prevent you from talking to him and establishing casual contact with him. He should know that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful even if one has been guilty of the most atrocious offenses.
That is the lesson we learn from the story of the people of the ditch: they were guilty of throwing the believers, including men, women, and children, to the fire pit and gloating over the horrors:
{Truly those who persecute believing men and believing women, then do not repent, theirs shall be the punishment of Hell, and theirs shall be the punishment of the burning.} (Al-Buruj 85:10)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) also narrates the story of a person who killed a hundred people and then felt remorse over his horrendous crimes and decided to change his life around by migrating to a city where he could live among the pious people; however, before he could arrive there, he died. Allah forgave him as he felt remorse, repented, and took the steps to change his life.
So, while your brother’s offense is grave, his case is not worse. So, your husband should not go that far in ordering you to cut off all relations with him. However, that does not mean you can be complacent about allowing him to be with minors or exposing him to compromising circumstances.
Allah orders the believers: {O you who believe! Turn to God in repentance so you may succeed.} (An-Nur 24:31)
👉 Explore more Islamic rulings on family ties, repentance, and marital obedience:
- Who Is More Important in Islam: Husband or Parents?
- Should a Woman Leave Her Elderly Mother to Live With Her Husband?
- How Often Should a Married Woman Visit Her Parents in Islam?
- Can You Cut Ties with Your Family in Islam?
- How Does Islam Care for Ties of Kinship?
- What Is Repentance in Islam?
Almighty Allah knows best.