Is it Islamically okay to cut off or limit contact with toxic parents?
Assalamu alaikum. My parents have been really toxic. They were both physically and emotionally abusive. I won’t go into details, but what they did wasn’t normal for any sane parent. Because of them, I was in deep depression for three years. I now have major anxiety issues. My mental and physical health are both messed up, and I feel very weak. Yes, my parents gave me an education and made sure that was done right, but everything came with a price. I can’t remember them getting me anything except school-related stuff. My life was isolated-I wasn’t allowed to have friends. My whole family is toxic, and my parents’ marriage is also really bad. The main problem is my father, who has many serious flaws, and my mother, who just goes along with him. She never stood up for me and was part of the abuse. Whenever I tried to talk about it, she said parents have the right to discipline their children if they do wrong. My entire life was decided by them, and they didn’t even plan to send me to college. When I stood up for myself, I became the bad one, no longer the obedient daughter. My mother curses me often just because I stood up for myself. She says I will suffer and that my children will treat me the way I treat them. Honestly, I never had any real parental figure. I was always the punching bag and the one to blame for everything. I did well in school, which gave them a good image in society, so they pushed me beyond my limits. No matter how hard I worked, they never appreciated me. I was just never enough. They are one of the main reasons I lost my faith and stopped praying to Allah. I kept wondering, “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?” My mother is very orthodox, using religion to justify abuse. She would die defending her husband’s wrongdoings. My question is, will I face consequences if I abandon my parents? I’m not close to any relatives, and they are not great either. Will I be sinning if I cut off contact and live my own life? My parents, as toxic as they are, did work a little to support my education, which I think is just the bare minimum and not a big deal, but still. I am willing to support them financially if they ever need it (though my mother says she would rather die than take a penny from me). I just won’t talk to them beyond being formal. I am struggling a lot mentally because of them, and the trauma they caused is lifelong. It will take me years to heal from what they did. I still get flashbacks from my past. I’ve lost all hope and will to live, lost my purpose in life, and even my faith because of them. I don’t know if it’s a sin, but in order to survive, I have to cut them off. I’ve had suicidal thoughts before and even wished for them to die. Will I face consequences if I abandon them? Is it obligatory for me to look after them in their old age? Lastly, someone told me that the sins of parents show up in their child’s life and that this would apply to me and my children too. Is that true? My parents say everything they did was for my own good and without ill intention, but no parent would do the things they did. They may have had good intentions, but what they did is something I cannot forgive or forget.