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rabbukum ʾaʿlamu bi-mā fī nufūsikum ʾin takūnū ṣāliḥīna fa-ʾinnahū kāna li-l-ʾawwābīna ghafūran
Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts. Should you be righteous, He is indeed most forgiving toward penitents.
— Ali Quli Qarai
17Al-Isrā’الإسراءVerse 25 of 111
The Night Journey17. Al-Isrā’الإسراء
Al Isrā’
The Night Journey
MeccanVerse 25 of 111
Surah Isra’ – Verse 25
25. “Your Lord is well aware about what is in your selves. If you be righteous, then verily He is for the repentant forgiving.”
Among the Divine powers and Divinity of the Almighty is His Omniscience, and every kind of service rendered to one’s parents, is carried out under His supervision. The verse, in this respect, says:
“Your Lord is well aware about what is in your selves…”
If one is ignorantly having an unsuitable relationship or approach towards one’s parents, one can call Allah’s grace to the matter by repenting of his sins. As it may sometimes happen that with regard to one’s relationship with his parents and respect for them and gentle submissiveness concerning them, there might be deviancies occurred which one might unconsciously or deliberately perform, the Qur’an in this holy verse implies that your Lord is better aware of what is in your mind than you.
For, His knowledge in all fields is intuitively direct, constant, original, eternal, everlasting and lacks all errors, while your knowledge does not possess such characteristics. Therefore, if you, with no intention of disobeying against Allah, get involved in an erroneous behavior with regard to respect and goodness concerning your parents, and you regret it immediately, initiating compensation you will definitely be covered by His amnesty. The verse says:
“…If you be righteous, then verily He is for the repentant forgiving.”
Quotations Concerning Respect for Parents in Islam
Islam has stressed respect for parents to the extend that one can find such respect for few other matters. As examples, some traditions are cited here in this connection:
1) In four of the Suras of the Glorious Qur’an, goodness towards one’s parents immediately follows the subject of monotheism. Treating the matter in the same row, and equal basis with monotheism, exhibits the fact that to what extend it regards, for one’s parents is considered important in Islam.
2) This issue is so important that both the Holy Qur’an and Islamic quotations have explicitly recommended that even if one’s parents are pagans, respect for them is a ‘must’.
3) Thanking parents, in the Glorious Qur’an, is placed on an identical basis with thanking Allah for His blessings. 1
4) The Qur’an has not allowed the slightest kind of lack of respect for the parents.
“…do not say to them ‘fie’…” 2
5) A tradition from Imam Kazim (as) declares:
“Some one called on the Prophet (S) and asked him about the rights of parents. He answered: ‘One must not call them by name. (They must be addressed as: My Father…!) He should not go in front of them when walking; and should not seat himself before his parent.
One must not be acting in such a way as to be blamed for his parents. He must not behave such a manner that people say: ‘Hoping that Allah does not forgive your father for having done such a job’.” 3
6) The Prophet (S) has said:
“Let his nose be rubbed against the ground! Let his nose be rubbed against the ground! Let his nose be rubbed against the ground!”
Then he was asked:
“Whose nose O’ Messenger of Allah?”
So he answered:
“The one who does not do a good job to enter the Paradise once his parents reach old age!”
This quotation has been cited by Moslem in his ‘Sahih’.4
7) Abū-Sayyid-’Ans ari has said:
“Once we were with the blissful Prophet. A man from the Bani-Salmah came and said:
‘O!’ Messenger of Allah! Is there any thing good that I can do for them after the death of my parents? And is there any generous act which I can do for them?’
He answered:
‘O’, Yes. You can do them good by performing the prayer rituals for them; and asking forgiveness on their behalf from Allah; and keeping to the words and to their commitments and making payments for their debts as well as respecting their friends.” 5
8) In some of the quotations received, assisting and doing ‘good’ to one’s parents have been greatly recommended and doing them harm has been discarded. For instances, the reward for looking with compassion at one’s own parents has been equated with an accepted ‘Hajj’.
Their consent is identical with the consent of Allah and their outrage is on an equal footing with that by Allah. Kindness and generosity towards one’s parents prolongs one’s lifetime and causes our children to be kind and generous towards us. We have it in quotations that: If you were even beaten by them, do not utter a low word; do not stare at them; do not raise up your hand against them; do not walk in front of them; do not call them by name; do not do what might lead the people to curse them or insult them; do not seat yourselves before them, assist them before being asked by them for assistance. 6
9) Generosity and kindness to one’s parents are among the attributes of the prophets as is explained about Hadrat-i-‘Issa (as)
“And (He has made me) kind to my mother…” 7
and is also said about Hadrat-i-Yahya (as)
“And kindness to his parents…” 8
10) Amir-ul-Mu’mineen Ali (as) has remarked:
“Kindness to the parents is the greatest (and the most important) of the Divine duties.” 9
11) Imam Sadiq (as) has stated:
“The best of the deeds are: Prayer rituals which are performed at their appropriate time; Kindness and goodness towards one’s parents, Fighting a holy war for the sake of Allah. 10
12) The prophet of Allah (S) has stated:
“Whoever obeys Allah’s command with regard to his parents, two of the gates of the Paradise will be laid wide open to Him; and if he obeys one (of them), one (of the gate-ways of the Paradise will be left open for him).” 11
13) The blissful Prophet (S) has stated:
“The person who obeys his parents and his Lord, will be assigned a highly-elevated position in Paradise.” 12
14) The Messenger of Allah (S) remarked:
“He who wishes his life be prolonged and his means of sustenance be made abundant, must treat his parents with kindness and observe the union of kindred.” 13
15) Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“A man turned up before the Prophet (S) and asked:
‘O’ Messenger of Allah! Whom should I do kindness to?’
He answered:
‘To your mother!’
Again, he asked:
‘Next to my mother, to whom (should I be kind)?’
He answered:
‘To your mother!’
Again, that man asked:
‘After her, to whom (should I do good)?’
He answered again:
‘To your mother.’
And, finally, he asked:
‘Following my mother, to whom (should I do good next)?’
He replied:
‘To your father.’” 14
16) The Messenger of Allah (S) remarked:
“Do your fathers good so as your children also do you good. Turn your eyes away from the wives of others so that others turn away their eyes from your wives.” 15
One must keep in mind the fact that one’s parents are not regarded as only parents. In some quotations the blissful Prophet (S) and Amir-ul-mu’mineen (as) are considered as the ‘fathers of nation’. The Prophet (S) said:
“Ali and I are the fathers of this Ummat.”
In conclusion, once the parents focus their attention on the fact that they stand in importance next to the principle of monotheism of Islam, they will be motivated strongly to call their children to adopt monotheism and Islam still further.
Footnotes