Islamically speaking, am I required to financially provide for my parents if they don’t want to work?
Assalamu Alaikum, my parents immigrated to the US and have no formal education. They’re in their 50s and 60s, and I’m the eldest daughter among nine siblings, six younger than me. My dad stopped working a proper job years ago to pursue a business venture that didn’t succeed, and we mostly relied on assistance programs. I completed university and now work as a nurse, covering most household expenses, but it’s really wearing me down. I wish to build my own life, but I’ve had to prioritize theirs first, even helping raise my younger siblings and supporting them financially as soon as I started working. I’m exhausted. My parents were also verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive, so besides limited financial and educational support, we never felt safe at home or within ourselves. I want to stop financially supporting them, but I feel guilty-like I’m doing something wrong even though I’ve always been the supportive daughter. Now in my 30s, I’ve lost a lot of respect for them as individuals, realizing they did barely enough to keep us alive.