All praise is due only to Allaah. We laud Him and beseech His

Her service to her in-laws is from her own goodwill
Understand well! If there is a need to serve the parents, then 
this duty is the responsibility of the son and not the daughter-
in-law. It is however from the goodness of her heart if she 
serves her husband’s parents. The husband has no right to ask 
or force her to serve his parents. If the wife serve her in-laws 
then she will be handsomely rewarded by Allaah Ta`ala. 
Although it is not her obligation to serve them, if she does so 
happily, then besides the tremendous reward she will earn, it 
will also engender a peaceful and happy home environment. 
Appreciate the service of the daughter-in-law
The in-laws and husband must realise and be aware of the fact 
that their daughter-in-law and wife is serving us through the 
goodness of her heart and this is not an obligation on her. They 
must appreciate the services she renders them. They should also 
endeavour to reward her and reciprocate her services (with an 
occasional gift, etc.). 
A strange episode
Hadhrat Doctor Abdul Hayy Saheb (rahmatullah alayh) 
narrates an incident regarding a couple who regularly attended 
his majlis gatherings. They had an 
Islaahi
relationship with 
him. One day they invited Hadhrat for a meal. After the meal, 
Hadhrat, in following the practice and advice of his Sheikh, 
thanked the lady of the house (from behind a Purdah) and he 
praised her cooking and commended the delicious meal. The 
lady broke out into tear and started crying. Hadhrat was 
surprised and wondered what was it that he has said which 

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upset her so. He asked what the matter was and with difficulty, 
through her tears, she replied, 
“Hadhrat, I am now married for 
forty years and there was not a single day in my married life 
that I ever heard my husband tell me, ‘The food was delicious’. 
This was the first time I heard someone tell me that, hence I 
broke out crying.”
.