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wa-khfiḍ lahumā janāḥa dh-dhulli mina r-raḥmati wa-qul rabbi rḥamhumā ka-mā rabbayānī ṣaghīran
Lower the wing of humility to them, mercifully, and say, ‘My Lord! Have mercy on them, just as they reared me when I was [a] small [child]!’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Isra’ – Verse 24
24. “And out of compassion, lower unto them the wing of humility, and say: ‘My Lord! Have mercy on them both as they cherished me when I was little.”
In words and in deeds, try your best to be humble towards your parents. The objective in mind by the Qur’anic term /ŏull/ is not meant to denote humility, but, it means ‘gentleness and humbleness.’ By the phrase: ‘lower unto them the wing of humility’, which is literally mentioned in the above verse, is the simile which refers to making oneself in the utmost sense of submissive gentleness towards one’s parents. It makes one recall a bird which opens up its wings to provide shelter for its offspring.
The Almighty thus proclaims to cover your parents gently under your love and generosity by providing them with shelter and care as they provided you with shelter and care when you were little. The verse says:
“And out of compassion, lower unto them the wing of humility…”
Imam Sadiq (as) in this regard said:
“That is, do not look at them except with compassion and kindness; do not raise your voice when talking to them above their voice; and do not raise your hand above theirs, and do not go before them when walking.”
Therefore, pray for them and ask Allah to allocate His blessings and forgiveness to them before and after their death, for they have brought you up as a child. This very recent one is in case that they are both believers. The verse says:
“…and say: ‘My Lord! Have mercy on them both as they cherished me when I was little.”
One can infer from this verse that the praying of children for their parents who are dead is acceptable by Allah (s.w.t.), otherwise, there would be no use in saying:
“pray for them.”