Respect and obedience of parents - In light of the Holy Quran and Hadith

Looking at parents with love brings reward of 1 Hajj

 

It is not only obedience of parents that is rewarded, but even if a son or daughter just looks at his/her parents with love, then for each glance that person is granted the rewarded of 1 accepted Hajj.  As the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has said:

 

Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas (May Allah be well pleased with them) that the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  Whichever obedient son (or daughter) looks at his parents with love, then Allah Most High grants the reward of 1 accepted Hajj in lieu of every glance.  The Companions asked:  If he does so 100 times in a single day, will he be given the reward of 100 accepted Hajj?  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  Allah is great and benevolent beyond all bounds.  (Shua’bul Iman, Hadith No. 7611; Kanz Ul ‘Ummal, Hadith No. 45535; Zujajatul Masabeeh, Vol. 4, Pg. No. 88)

 

Out of His mercy, the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has declared the reward of an accepted Hajj for just looking at parents with love.  In this regard, reward for other forms of worship could also have been decreed.  Salaat can be offered at any place with ease.  Only 1 day is required for fasting.  There is no need to spend any money to recite the Holy Quran.  Time is not spent in giving charity.  However, the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has fixed the reward to be of 1 accepted Hajj.  This is because Hajj is both a physical and monetary form of worship.  It is such a form of worship that it can’t be offered anywhere and at any time.  It has to be performed at a particular place and at a particular time.  Even after all this, the person performing can’t say for sure whether Almighty Allah has accepted his Hajj or not, but the obedience of parents is such a thing that it brings reward of an accepted Hajj.

 

        On listening to this glad tiding, the Companions asked for clarification that will the reward remain the same if a son/daughter looks at his/her parents with love many times a day.  The sovereign Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said that whenever a son/daughter looks at his/her parents with love, the reward of an accepted Hajj will be given.  The height of benevolence is that even if a son/daughter casts 100 glances at parents with love, then that person will be given the reward of 100 accepted Hajj.

 

        Our parents are a great bounty for us.  We should consider their lives as a respite for us and recognize their value.  The Family of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), the Companions and the saints have presented such examples of obedience and kind treatment of their parents that history can’t present a parallel to it.

 

Imam Hasan (May Allah be well pleased with him) would not eat along with his mother, Hadhrat Syeda Fatima (May Allah be well pleased with her) out of respect for her.  As mentioned in Nuzhatul Majalis:

 

Translation: Hadhrat Imam Hasan (May Allah be well pleased with him) wouldn’t eat with his mother, Hadhrat Syeda Fatima (May Allah be well pleased with her).  When she asked him about it, he said:  I fear that if I have what you intend to have, I might be reckoned among the disobedient.  Hadhrat Syeda Fatima (May Allah be well pleased with her) said:  You eat along with us.  You have full permission.  (Nuzhatul Majalis, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 184)

 

There is a similar Hadith in Kanz Ul ‘Ummal about the reward of serving parents:

 

Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat ‘Aisha Siddiqua (May Allah be well pleased with her), she says:  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  When I entered paradise, I heard someone reciting.  I asked:  Who is it?  The angels said:  This is Haritha bin N’umaan (May Allah be well pleased with him).  On this, the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  This is how good deeds are rewarded.  This is how good deeds are rewarded.  Among all people, he serves his mother the most.  (Kanz Ul ‘Ummal, Hadith No. 45937)

 

        One night, the mother of Hadhrat Bayazeed Bustami (May Allah shower His mercy on him) asked him to bring water.  When he brought water, she had dozed off.  Keeping in mind the rest and respect of his mother, Hadhrat Bayazeed spent the whole night with the glass of water in his hand.  As mentioned in Nuzhatul Majalis:

 

Translation: Hadhrat Bayazeed Bustami (May Allah be well pleased with him) said:  One night, my mother asked me to get water for her.  By the time I brought water, she had fallen asleep.  I waited there until she got up.  When she woke up, she asked:  Where is the water?  I presented the cup of water to her.  The water had spilled on to my finger and because of severe cold, it had frozen.  When my mother took the cup from my hand, the skin of my finger was scraped off and my finger started bleeding.  She asked me:  Son! What is this?  I recounted everything to her.  She then supplicated for me with the words: “O Allah!  I am pleased with him.  You also be pleased with him.  (Nuzhatul Majalis, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 183)

 

The effect of that supplication was such that Hadhrat Bayazeed Bustami (May Allah be well pleased with him) says:  I thought that striving and worship was primary, but what I couldn’t gain through them, I gained it from the pleasure and approval of my mother.  (Mawaaiz-e-Hasana, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 128)

 

    The effect of his mother’s supplication was not limited to this world only, but even in the hereafter, its blessings were realized, as is obvious from this Tradition:

 

Translation: When Hadhrat Bayazeed Bustami (May Allah shower His mercy on him) passed away, some of his disciples saw him in a dream that he was strolling the gardens of paradise and was glorifying Allah Most High.  They asked:  How did you reach this high station?  He said:  By kind treatment of parents and by being patient on hardships.  (Nuzhatul Majalis, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 183)