You are on page 1of 8

Parents rights in Islam

By
Fahad Javaid Cheema
University of Gujrat
NCBA & E

Contents
Parent...................................................................................................1

Importance of Parents in Religions rather than Islam.............................2


Why so much emphasis on the rights of Parents....................................2
Rights of parents in Holy Quran...........................................................2
Do not say them a word of contempt...................................................................3
Luqmaan admonishes his Son in Quran..............................................................3
When an individual have not to obey them..........................................................3
Hadith e Qudsi..................................................................................................... 3
Rights of parents in Hadiths.................................................................4
Rights of the Parents and they are the pave-way to Paradise or Hell...................4
Four grave Sins.................................................................................................... 4
Parents pleasure leads to Allahs goodwill............................................................4
The unlucky person.............................................................................................. 4
Service to parents has priority over optional Jihad...............................................5
Treatment with non-Muslim parents.....................................................................5
Can one really fulfil the rights of parents.............................................................5
Disobedience to parents can be waved of..........................................................5
Three accepted prayers....................................................................................... 5
Significant and righteous Massage.......................................................6

Parent

It is our parents who are the means of giving us life. We are an ofshoot of
their existence and a fruit of the garden of their unparalleled afection,
training, love and sentiments. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child.
Parents are first-degree relatives and have fifty percent genetic meet. Some

parents may be adoptive parents, who nurture and raise an ofspring, but are
not actually biologically related to the child. All religions and all societies
have given parents an honorable status. From a purely material viewpoint,
we find ourselves indebted to our parents. They made plans about their
childrens lives before to their birth. The first and foremost desire of parents
is to prepare them for a bright and successful future. Thus every parent
hopes and wishes that their children be pious with excellent character but
this can only be achieved if the correct method towards this goal is adopted
and the right environment created from the very beginning. It is very
important to note that the spiritual upbringing is far more important than the
physical upbringing.

Importance of Parents in Religions rather than Islam


Every religion teaches their believers to be respectful, kind, and obedient to
your parents, and that they continue to show them humility regardless of the
power, position, wealth, and influence they may possess. When asked about
the people who taught us the most, who were there for us through hardships,
who laughed with us during the good times, who put up with us on our of
days, most of us think immediately of our parents. And it is true: our parents
are the ones who have been with us through almost everything in our lives.
Without them, most of us would not be in the places we are today. Our lives
are an extension of our parent's lives while our children's lives are a
continuation of ours. Our good behavior 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.

Why so much emphasis on the rights of Parents


We do not find in Noble Qur'an and Hadith so much emphasis on looking
after the children but the case with the rights of the parents. Why?
The fact is that the parents heart is the fountain head of the love for the
child, this afection becomes the life-blood of the parents. Noble Qur'an has
alluded to this instinctive parental love in several places. On the other hand,
children especially when they are no longer in need of parental care, do not
feel so much love for the parents. It was for this reason that Islam did not
explain the rights of children so forcefully; but full emphasis was given to the
rights of the parents. The parents provides protection, food and clothing to
the newly born. The mother sacrifices her comforts and sleep to provide
comfort to her children. The father works hard to provide for their physical,

educational and psychological needs. It is a matter of common courtesy that


if a person does you some favor you feel obliged to him. Verbally you say
thank you to him. You try to repay and compensate him for his gifts and
favors. You feel a sense of gratitude towards him.

Rights of parents in Holy Quran


Islam recognizes family as a basic social unit. Along with the husband-wife
relationship the Parent-child relationship is the most important one. To
maintain any social relationship both parties must have some clear-cut
Rights as well as obligations. The relationships are reciprocal. Duties of one
side are the Rights of the other side. So in Parent-child relationship the
Rights of parents are the obligations of the children and vice versa, the
Rights of children are obligations of parents. Islam clearly defines the Rights
of Parents and obligations of parents (which means Rights of children).
Do not say them a word of contempt
In Quran, we see stress on feeling grateful to parents, and doing good to
them. The Glory ALLAH says And your Lord has ordained that you shall
worship none save Him and shall do your parents a good turn. Whether one
or more attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor
repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower
to them the wing of humility, and say, my Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy,
even as they cherished me in childhood. (Quran 17: 23-24)
What does a good turn mean? It includes obeying them, speaking softly,
avoiding harsh words or harsh tone, giving them company when they are
lonely, caring for their physical and psychological needs, praying to Allah
that He may bless them and have mercy on them.
Luqmaan admonishes his Son in Quran
Another place in Quran, An excellent example of this is found in the words of
Luqmaan to his son, related in the Quran, where he admonishes him, Not to
ascribe divine powers to anything other than Allah, To be good and kind to
parents and To obey parents unless they command what is wrong (Quran
31:13).
ALLAH says We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents, in pain did
his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth. (Quran 46:15)

When an individual have not to obey them


God has enjoined on us to show kindness, respect, and humility to our
parents. We are commanded to do this, even though they may have injured
us. The only exception to the above command is made in the following verse,
We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents; but if they strive (to
force) thee to join with Me anything of which thou hast no knowledge, obey
them not. (Quran 29:8)
Hadith e Qudsi
According to the Hadith-e-Qudsi, God has commanded that if anybody
prays equal to the invocations performed by the prophets, such prayers will
do no good if that person has been cursed by his or her parents.
It has also been related that the very first words which have been written on
the Lauh-e-Mahfuz are, I am God, and there is no deity except Me. I am
pleased with those with whom their parents are pleased, and I am displeased
with those with whom their parents are displeased.

Rights of parents in Hadiths


Islam, being a religion of peace, clearly teaches us here that we are to
respect our parents even if they do not share the same religion with you.
Obeying them in permissible acts refers to acts which do not contradict the
teaching of Islam. As long as the parents tell their children to do something
that does not go against the teachings of Islam, the child was bound to obey
them. Respect and honor are the parents first and foremost right. No matter
how wrong a parent might be, a child was not allowed to misbehave with
them. It is one of the greatest sins in Islam. As the Holy Prophet (
)stated,
Rights of the Parents and they are the pave-way to Paradise or Hell
It is recorded on authority of Ibn Maja that a man asked the Holy Prophet (
) , What rights the parents had on their children. The Holy
Prophet( ) answered, Both are your Paradise and your
Hell. ( Ibn-e-Maajja )

Four grave Sins


Hazrat Anas ( ) states that when the Holy Prophet (
)was asked about the grave sins, he said, (1) Associating partners with
Allah. (2) Being disobedient & insolent to parents, (3) to kill a human being
without justified reason, and (4) to become a false witness to an unwitnessed
incident. ( Bokhari )
Parents pleasure leads to Allahs goodwill
Hazrat Abdullah bin Omar ( ) relates that the Holy Prophet (
) said: Allahs pleasure and approval are in the pleasure and
approval of the parents, and Allahs anger lies in the displeasure of the
parents. ( Tirmidh )
The unlucky person
Hazrat Abu Hurayra ( ) tells us that on one occasion the Holy
Prophet( ) remarked in a trance: He is humbled, he is
humbled, he is humbled! , The companions ( ) asked, Who is
humbled, O Prophet( ) of Allah? The Holy Prophet (
) answered, He who found his/her parents or one of them in old
age, and yet did not enter Paradise (by serving them). ( Muslim )
Service to parents has priority over optional Jihad
We have learnt from Hazrat Abdullah bin Omar ( ) that a man
came to the Holy Prophet () , and requested his permission
to go on Jihad. The Holy Prophet( ) asked the man if his
parents were alive. The man replied that they were. Then, said the Holy
Prophet () , Do jihad for them. (That is, striving to earn for
parents and serve them in all that they need is also a form of jihad). ( Abu
Dawood )
Treatment with non-Muslim parents
Hazrat Asma bint Abu Bakr As-Siddiq ( ) narrates: My mother
came to me, while she was still a polytheist. I asked the Messenger of Allah,
My mother who is ill-disposed to Islam, has come to visit me. She wants
something from me. Shall I show her afection? The Holy Prophet (

) replied: Yes, be benevolent towards your mother. ( Bokhari and


Muslim )
Can one really fulfil the rights of parents
Hazrat Abu Huraira ( ) reported that the Messenger of Allah (
) had said, No son can repay for the serve of his father except
that if ever he finds him a slave, he buys him, and then gets him
emancipated. ( Muslim ) We must therefore realize that simple service to
the parents is just not enough, but we must always remain prepared to come
to their rescue if ever they fall in some serious trouble.
Disobedience to parents can be waved off
Hazrat Anas ( ) reports the Holy Prophet () , as
saying: Sometimes it so happens that after the parents die, their child who
had been disobedient during their life-time and used to harass them; begins
to pray for them and beseech forgiveness for them in appreciation of which
Allah categorizes him in the list of those who were obedient to their parents
in life. (Baihaqi )
Three accepted prayers
Hazrat Abu Hurayra ( ) has quoted the Holy Prophet (
), as saying Three prayers are always heard: (i) a fathers prayer for his
children; (ii) a travellers prayer; and (iii) the prayer of one who is wronged &
victimised. ( Tirmazi and Abu Dawood )

Significant and righteous Massage


So by all above the sayings we can realize the status of parents in a childs
life. The Holy Prophet ( ) gave precedence to a mother three
times before giving precedence to a father ( Bokhari and Muslim ). Similarly,
there is this very famous Hadith which states that paradise lays beneath the
feet of a mother ( Nisai ). These hadith tells us that if we engage in the
service of our parents and if we keep them happy, we create for ourselves a
clear passage to Paradise in the afterlife. Let us pray to God that he guide us
to be respectful, kind, and obedient to our parents, and that we continue to
show them humility regardless of the power, position, wealth, and influence

we may possess. Finally, there are many ways to fix our relationships with
our parents. First and foremost, of course, we must recall the importance our
parents have in our lives, and the various verses that remind us to be kind to
them. There are also many sayings from the Prophet Muhammad ((
that teach us how to act with them.

You might also like