Status of Parents (Part 1)

Allah (S.W.T) is our creator, but it is through the means of our parents that we are brought into this world. It is these parents who go through great hardship to ensure that we live a good and healthy life without facing life’s problems. They ensure that all our needs are met no matter what the price they have to pay. Their ultimate goal in life is the success of us, their children.

More often than not, once we grow up, big and strong and able to fend for ourselves we forget about the times when we were heavily reliant on our ever ready parents. Erasing all from memory the time and effort, blood and sweet which was dedicated to us whilst growing up.

Just as it is beyond our means to fulfil the rights of Allah (S.W.T) and to thank Him for all His bounties in their entirety, similarly we can never thank our parents fully for their efforts. The only thing that we can do is to acknowledge our inability and submit ourselves, in humbleness and respect, before them.

Our lives are an extension of our parent's lives while our children's lives are a continuation of ours. Our good behaviour towards our parents and our exhibition of kindness towards them shall cause our children to grow up as grateful and righteous individuals. They shall behave with us just as we have behaved with our own parents.

In Islam we are instructed to safeguard these two Jewels (Our Mother and Father) by showing the utmost respect to them and fulfilling all their requests (providing they are within the Shariah) no matter what the consequence we have to face, whilst they are alive and by means of charity and goodly remembrance after their death.

Hazret Ibne Abbas (R.A) reported that the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) has said,“No obedient son looks at his parents with a look of kindness but Allah records to his credit an accepted Pilgrimage for every look.” They asked: even if he gives one hundred looks daily? He (S.A.W) replied, “Yes, Allah is Most Great and Most Good.” (Baihaqi 4725/34)