Indeed, it is that natural love, devotion and selflessness of parents for their progeny that reflects God’s love for all His creation.
Source/Credit: Daily Bulletin | Religion
By Imam Shamshad A. Nasir | June 16, 2013
Every year on Mother’s and Father’s Day, Americans are reminded to honor their parents for all they have done for their children. While this is commendable, Islam teaches that parents should be honored every day, not just once per year.
A fundamental focus of religion is the family. And while the survival of the human race is important, religion’s role in that survival is not about simply filling the world with more human beings. The real purpose of religion is to produce moral, righteous and God-fearing people who desire communion with their Creator and who worship Him and seek His Blessings and Mercy -- especially if they have any children.
Indeed, it is that natural love, devotion and selflessness of parents for their progeny that reflects God’s love for all His creation. That is why being a good parent is so strongly emphasized in Holy Scriptures around the world and why it is essential for children to love and respect their parents.
Here are two verses concerning parents from chapter 17 of the Holy Quran that illustrate the Islamic teachings. There are other verses (6:152, 29:9 and 31:15) that say similar things, but verses 24-25 present the Islamic viewpoint in a nutshell:
17:24-25 Thy Lord has commanded, “Worship none but Him, and show kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age with thee, never say to them any word expressive of disgust nor reproach them, but address them with kind words. And lower to them the wing of humility out of tenderness. And say, My Lord, have mercy on them even as they nourished me in my childhood.”In this and most other Quranic verses dealing with parents, the first thing God draws our attention to is not our parents, but who should be the sole focus of our worship – God alone and not our parents. Islam is based on the pure Oneness of God, whose worship must not be polluted with the association of any partners -- human or non-human -- with God.
This is why in the Quran, God commands you to obey your parents in all good things, except if they try to turn you away from Islam or the worship of God. If this happens, you are commanded to disobey them. Even then, you are still required to treat them with kindness and respect and to provide for them in their old age as they provided for you in your upbringing.
The other key element to these verses is that you cannot address your parents with foul or harsh language or rebuke them in any way -- you must instead be humble and kind towards them at every turn.
In the modern age, where senior citizens homes are a common feature in most cities, Islam says grown offspring should never avoid their moral duty to care for their aging parents with the same love and devotion their parents gave them. Of course, there are valid reasons for seeking professional care for one’s parents if they have serious medical issues, but even then, trained medical assistants or hospice nurses can usually be hired to tend to elderly or infirm parents in the home without placing them in a retirement home.
Respect and love are easily demonstrated by the way you treat others, and when it comes to parents, Islam enjoins you to always love and respect your parents. Even if you may feel they don’t deserve it because of mistakes they made or the pain and suffering they may have caused you, the one thing that can begin to heal your pain, anger and resentment is the power of your forgiveness.
Despite whatever painful events have happened with you and your parents, it is always your choice and always within your power to forgive them. It may not be easy or what you would prefer, but forgiving the people who have hurt you frees you from that hurt. And that is the first step in returning them to their proper place as your loving parents and returning you to your proper place as their loving child.
From: “From the Pulpit” Daily Bulletin Religion Section.
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Read original post here: Point of view: Honor parents every day, not just on Mother’s and Father’s Day
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