BRANCHES OF FAITH
Kindness to Parents (Part 4)
Birr Al-Waalidayn is a characteristic of the believer (Mu’min). Al-Hasan Al Basri defined it saying, “Al-Birr is to obey the parents in everything that they ask so long as it is not to disobey Allah (SWT). “Uqooq” is to disown your parents, denying them all of your goodness.”
Ad-Daylami collected from Al-Husayn ibn Ali, that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “If Allah knew any smaller than ‘uff’ to be disrespectful to parents, He would have decreed it to be Haram!” In Bukhari, a man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) – seeking permission to go for Jihad. The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked him, “Are your parents alive?” He said, “Yes.” He (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Perform Jihad (in you kind treatment) of them.”
If someone came to you today and offered you a free lunch, what would be your response? No doubt you would smile, speak kindly to and of them, and reserve a special place in your heart for their memory. Why is it then that our parents receive only cold stares, harsh words and bitter treatment and they are who they are in our lives? For twenty or thirty years they fed us, clothed us, washed us, and showered their mercy on our soft skin. Their love for us never dies even if we do, love that goes even beyond us, to our children and even their children.
We all have parents – whether they are with us or not – and many have not understood the their grand position in our lives and their right to be respected and revered.