Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 226
226 pain, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him take thirty months” (46:16). The Prophet has said: “Paradise lies at the feet of our mothers. ” On one occasion a person asked him: “Which of my kinsfolk has the strongest claim upon me?” “Thy mother,” he replied. “And after her?” The Prophet smiled, and said: “Thy mother. ” Asked a third time, he still said: “Thy mother. ” When asked a fourth time, he replied: “After her, thy father. ” On another occasion he said: “Most unfortunate is the person who is granted an opportunity of serving his parents, and fails to win Paradise through kindness and tenderness toward them. ” Here is a very clear gradation in the matter of the duty derived from love and affection: “Worship Allah and associate naught with Him, and conduct yourselves with beneficence toward parents, and toward kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and toward the neighbour that is of the kindred, and the neighbour that is a stranger, and the companions by your side, and the wayfarer, and those who work for you. Surely, Allah loves not the proud and boastful, who are niggardly and enjoin people to be niggardly” (4:37 ⎯ 38). Love of children is not stressed for it is a natural instinct, but its regulation has been