Must a man divorce his wife if his parents demand it?

Not merely because they demand it. Scholars cite the report that Ibn ʿUmar's father ʿUmar told him to divorce a wife he loved and the Prophet ﷺ told him to do so (narrated by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah), but Ibn Taymiyyah and other scholars explained this in light of ʿUmar's known justice and religion — the command carried a legitimate religious reason, and it is not a licence for a parent's dislike, jealousy or worldly preference. A man owes his mother the greatest companionship, as the Prophet ﷺ said "your mother" three times before "your father," yet he also owes his wife the right to be lived with in kindness, and wronging her is not obedience to Allah. The correct approach is to honour the parents, remove whatever genuine grievance exists, keep the two households separate if needed, and not destroy a marriage without a valid sharʿī cause.

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