Allah tells us in Qur'an (Surah 17, ayat 23)
"Your Lord has commanded that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your Parents!
This shows how important it is to obey your parents and shows us that it is definitely HARAAM to disobey them.
Question: Why should we obey our parents?
Answer : Our parents are older than us and so have had a lot of experience. They have given up so much for us. They also have our best interests at heart, so when they tell us something, they are telling us for our own good.
Allah said to one of His prophets:
"I swear by My Honour that anyone who does not obey his parents, even if he comes with the deeds of the Prophets in front of Me, I will never accept him."
If we disobey our parents, we are disobeying Allah and so we will not obey anyone. This means that there are no rules for us to follow, so we can do whatever we want!
This is what has happened to the western world today. The children do what they want and become spoilt and violent. Since today's children rebelled against their parents, they did not learn how to behave, and as a result will make bad parents in the future when they have children.
This shows that if we disobey our parents, we are ruining our own lives because we will bring our children up to disobey us.
Ayatullah Khomeini (may Allah rest his soul) said that,
"Looking at the face of your mother or father with respect is like looking at the Kaaba, the reward is the same."
Imam Ali (A) has said:
"Respect your father and your son will respect you."
Imam Zainul Abideen (A) and respecting Parents:
Our 4th Imam, Imam Zainul Abideen (A), was a very kind and patient person. He usually never got angry and he always had a smile on his face.
One day when Imam Zainul Abideen (A) was walking down the street with a few of his friends, he saw an old man carrying a heavy load while his son walked next to him. Imam Zainul Abideen (A) lost his smile and became red with anger. All his friends were very surprised to see Imam Zainul Abideen (A) in this way, as they had never seen him angry.
They asked Imam Zainul Abideen (A) what had happened to make him so angry. Imam Zainul Abideen (A) repliedthat he was angry to see a son walk with his father letting him carry a heavy load and not helping.
It is narrated that the Prophet Mohammed (S) has said: One who pleases his parents has verily pleased Allah, and one who has angered his parents has verily angered Allah.
It is narrated that the Prophet Mohammed (S) has said: "Two doors of paradise are opened for a person whose day commences when his parents are pleased with him."
A person once approached the Prophet Mohammed (S) and said: "I have an old father and mother, who due to their attachment towards me, are not keen for me to go to Jihad."
Hearing this, the Prophet Mohammed (S) said "(If such is the case then) Stay with your Parents for by the One in whose control lies my soul! Their attachment of one day and one night to you is better than one year of Jihad."
It is narrated that Imam Jafar Sadiq (A) has said: "Allah will not accept the Namaaz of the person who stares angrily at his parents. Even though they (parents) may be unjust."
Moral..
- You should always help your parents, even when they do not ask you to.
THE Boy and the apple tree: Holy Qur'an & Parents:
A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day.
One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. "Come and play with me", the tree asked the boy.
"I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees anymore" the boy replied. "I want toys. I need money to buy them."
"Sorry, but I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money."
The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.
One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited. "Come and play with me" the tree said.
"I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"
"Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house". So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted. "Come and play with me!" the tree said.
"I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?" said the man.
"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy."
So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
Finally, the man returned after many years. "Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you", the tree said.
"No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite" the man replied.
"No more trunk for you to climb on". I am too old for that now" the man said.
"I really cannot give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots," the tree said with tears. "I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years," the man replied.
"Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, come sit down with me and rest." The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.
This is a story (Parents Sacrifice for Children) of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad.When we grow up, we leave them; only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble.
No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make you happy.
You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them for granted; we don't appreciate all they do for us, until it's too late.