How our elders served their parents

 

How our elders served their parents

 

Parents are a means of mercy for the children, both in this world and in the hereafter.  Their pleasure grants paradise to the children and their disapproval condemns them to hell.  By the virtue of serving one’s parents, one’s sustenance and lifespan are both increased.

 

After His worship, Allah Most High commands that parents be treated with kindness and consideration.  Some examples from the annals of Islamic history are being presented here:

 

The mother of the believers, Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah be well pleased with her) said:  There are 2 people from among the Companions who served their mothers the most:  Hadhrat ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan and Hadhrat Haritha bin No’man (May Allah be well pleased with them). 

 

Hadhrat ‘Uthman (May Allah be well pleased with him) says:  After I embraced Islam, I have never looked at my mother in the eye.  Haritha bin No’man (May Allah be well pleased with him) would check for lice in his mother’s head.  He would feed her himself.  If his mother gave an order and he had not understood it properly, he would not ask her again considering it as a disrespect but would ask others what she had said.  (Birr Ul Walidain Li ‘Allama Ibn Al Jauzi, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 5)

 

It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Sufyan bin Thauri (May Allah be well pleased with him), he said:  I have seen Hadhrat Muhammad bin Hanafiyya washing his mother’s head with a fragrant herb, combing it and dyeing it. 

 

Imam Zuhri (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) said:  Imam Hasan bin ‘Ali (May Allah be well pleased with him) would treat his mother the best.  In spite of it, out of respect for her, he would not eat along with her.  When asked about it, he said:  I don’t dare along with her because it may be that she desires to eat a thing and unknowingly I end up eating it.