Parents Refuses the One I Love
Salaam,I am having a problem and hope that you can help guide me with what I should do.I am a 25 year old man and I am in love with a woman who is 8 years older than me.We both have been wanting to get married for the last 3 years but my parents are completely against the idea of me marrying an older woman, despite what islam allows as for them this does not comply with their view of an ideal marriage.Their reason for not allowing me to marry the woman I love is their fear that later in life we may not be happy. For example we may not be able to have many children, she will age a lot faster than me, the intimate life between a man and woman may not be possible for us for very long and ultimately we may end up either divorcing or me going off with an other woman(second marriage). I have tried to convince my parents that inshallah everything will be fine so long as we have an understanding between us. But they think we are fooling ourselves.After marriage i intend to continue living with my family but my parents (who are not as healthy as they once were) will not permit me to live with them if i go against their will and marry my girlfriend.Whenever I bring this topic up, my parents start to feel unwell.I am struggling with what to do. Should i go against my parents or leave my girlfriend? In terms of Islam, what do i do?Thank you.