Chapter #15: Parents

Written by: Barah

۞ وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِنْدَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُلْ لَهُمَا أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُلْ لَهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا

“And your Lord has decreed that you worship nothing except Him, and to parents, [give] good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], “uff,” and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.” [Sahih International][17:23]

After God comes parents. He mentions being good to one’s parent no matter what. He mentions the old age because this is when your actions will truly reflect your kindness with your parents. He tells us not so much as to utter the sound “uff” from our mouths; we must tell them only gracious words. For they are our parents who love us, who helped us grow, and who spent their life doing everything for our sake–so how dare we disrespect them? Even with small sounds that could hurt them unintentionally. We must be aware and be kind to them with every move we make.

Photo credit: Barah Ahmad