What are your obligations to your stepparents?

Before we take a look at the obligations, rights and respect which one owes%0D%0Ato one's stepmother or stepparents, let us first take a look at our rights%0D%0Aand obligations we owe towards our parents. Allah Ta'ala mentions in the%0D%0Anoble Qur'aan, 'Allah has ordained you that you worship none other besides%0D%0AAllah and be good to your parents.'%0D%0A%0D%0AIn this Aayat, we see that immediately after Allah ordered us not to ascribe%0D%0Aany partners with Allah, which is the most fundamental aspect of faith,%0D%0AAllah orders us to be good, respect and honour one's parents. In one Hadith,%0D%0ANabi (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) mentioned that, 'Should I not inform you%0D%0Aof such sins which is from amongst the major sins' The Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu%0D%0AAnhum) answered, 'Most definitely, O` prophet of Allah'. Nabi (Sallallaahu%0D%0AAlayhi Wasallam) then said, 'To ascribe partners with Allah and to disobey%0D%0Aone's parents.'%0D%0A%0D%0AReverting to the question regarding stepparents and, in your case, a step%0D%0Amother: We are all aware of the rights we owe to our mother. The Qur'aan and%0D%0AHadith are replete with warnings of disobedience towards parents. It is%0D%0Aunderstood that a step mother can never take the place of a mother, but the%0D%0Amere fact that she is the wife of your father, equal amount of respect and%0D%0Ahonour should be shown to her as shown to one's own mother. Under no%0D%0Acircumstance should she be disrespected because this will cause hurt to your%0D%0Afather.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn today's society, the concept of 'stepparents' has been contaminated. Just%0D%0Abecause she is one's stepmother, she is regarded to be someone disliked and%0D%0Asomebody who is difficult to associate with. We should change this concept%0D%0Aand adopt love and affection in one's heart for our stepparents and give her%0D%0Adue amount of respect. Allah will then create that special maternal love%0D%0Abetween the children and stepmother. The only time when one may disobey one'%0D%0As stepparents is when they order one to do something contrary to Shari'ah.%0D%0A%0D%0Aand Allah Ta'ala Knows Best%0D%0A%0D%0AMufti Ebrahim Desai