Severing ties with the father to please the mother

Q: In order to please their mother, my brother and sisters are taking good care of our half-brother, whom they prefer over our father. Noticing that I was trying to set things aright between our parents, they began to sever our ties which I still insist on maintaining. In addition, my father refuses to mix our wealth with that of our half-brother, lest it could create problems in the future.Now my seventy-year-old father lives on his own. He does the cooking and cleaning himself. I am forty years old and the eldest of his sons, and I am married with four sons and five daughters. I asked him many times to come and live with me, but he gives the excuse that living conditions in The Eastern Province do not agree with him, as he lives in Najran. I have been working at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Al-Zhahran for thirteen years. I hope Your Honor will give me your opinion regarding this problem. Should I leave my elderly father to live on his own with no one to take care of him?

A: You did the right thing when you were keen to set things aright between your parents, even if it caused the displeasure of your brother and sisters. You are not to blame for not having your father to live with you as long as he is pleased with you and is not in need of your assistance. You, together with your other brother and sisters, should obey your father's advice regarding not mixing your wealth with that of (Part No. 25; Page No. 128) your half-brother in order to avoid any future problems that may arise if you allow such mixing of wealth.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.