Grand Ayatullah Shirazi remarks on some duties of fathers in relation to children

The daily scholarly meeting of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Sadegh al-Hosseini al-Shirazi was held on Wednesday, the 27th of Jumadi al-Thani. In this session, like the previous meetings, the Marja answered the questions of the attendees about various jurisprudential issues.

Grand Ayatollah Shirazi discussed the duties of a father towards his child, and said: A father has an obligatory duty towards his child to discipline them with proper upbringing, and to supervise their behavior and actions in such a way that this education yields good results. As it is stated in the Holy Qur’an, verse 6 of Surah al-Tahirim: Protect yourself and your family from the fire of hell. But in relation to the marriage of the child, the father has a Mustahab and not a Wajib duty to act.

His Eminence continued: Therefore, a father has two duties towards his child, one is obligatory and the other is recommended. As for the recommended duty, if he has the financial means, it is better to provide the marriage conditions of his children as soon as possible, whether it is a boy or a girl, and this is a highly emphasizes Mustahab.

Regarding circumstances where delay in marriage causes the child to fall into sin, the Marja said: If the father is able to provide the conditions for his child’s marriage and does not do so, and the child falls into sin and corruption, then this duty becomes Wajib, because the father has the duty, as much as he can, to prevent the child from falling into sin and corruption.