Islamic Teachings on Ideal Family Life — Page 43
~ 43 ~ or disapproval should pass one’s lips. On the contrary, they should be treated with profound respect. The emphasis on the most excellent relationship between one generation and another guarantees that no generation gaps appear. Such gaps always interrupt the transmission of traditional moral values. Isl ā mic social philosophy, therefore, teaches that no generation should permit a gap to appear between it and the outgoing generation and between it and the future generation. Generation gaps are totally alien to Isl ā m. As stated earlier, the family concept in Isl ā m is not limited to members of a single home. The following verse instructs Muslims to spend not only on their parents but also on their kith and kin who are mentioned next to parents in order of preference so that their sense of dignity is not injured and mutual love is promoted. Worship All ā h and associate naught with Him, and show kindness to parents, and to kindred, orphans, the needy and to the neighbor who is a kinsman and the neighbor who is a stranger, and the companion by your side and the wayfarer and those who are under your authority. Surely, All ā h loves not the arrogant and the boastful. (Ch. 4: Al-Nis ā : 37) The Holy Qur’ ā n declares that you must be mindful of kindness to your parents. If contemporary society learns the lesson from these injunctions, many problems which it faces today and which represent a blemish on an advanced society, would cease to exist. No homes for the aged would be needed, except for some aged people who, unfortunately, have no close relative to look after them. But in an Isl ā mic society, the love between