A Letter to a Dear One — Page 96
96 Letter to a Dear One the sense that they may make one neglectful of the remembrance of Allah. Their love could be one’s main objective, and in fulfilling their wishes and necessities, one could adopt ways that lead away from piety. For example, some people take bribes or acquire wealth through deception, etc. , to meet the needs of their family. Therefore, Islam has set limitations here; the love of one’s family is a most desirable quality as long as the intention behind it is seeking the pleasure of Allah rather than one’s own material wishes. It is important that this love is limited to its suitable sphere. On the other hand, the offspring are most strictly enjoined to be respectful and obedient to the parents and to treat them most kindly. It is said in the Holy Qur’ ā n: £J ¿ « G ±M ä I ~ I ãM † G ¬I ö « G G ÂM ö £I…Gy H xH£R † I ~ R êI~ D ZPyH¬H¤M ∑ G † R êG} G ß…Ge « çG´G–Gy L N pH} óG¿HÁR ö áHºG† G ëG• £G¿H G ëI ò M yG} óG¿H H ¬G ä G } G ®G¤I¼M ö Z G sG¬ÀI“ R ãG¸H¾M¤G † £R›I~ £J¿ † I ®G ò J êMÂG– £G¿HÁR ö áH–Gy £G¿H M ®GÁMÀG† G êGy áH–Gy I æG¿M ä R ® ö Z G ãI› I N uS − ö Z G `£GÀG‰ £G¿HÁG ö M ×I¹M‹OZ G y ZJ®ÃI¸G çI ú £G † R …Ge £G¿G ò £G¿HÁM¿G ä M eOZ I N [Re [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 unto them any word expressive of disgust nor reproach them, but address them with excellent speech. ” A most pertinent aspect in these verses that requires reflection is that Allah has mentioned the obedience and kind treatment towards parents immediately after the mention of the Unity of God. This illustrates that Allah holds parents’ respect and kind treatment in a very high regard. There are similar teachings about kind treatment with other relatives, according to their status. As you must have noticed, Allah the Almighty has defined high morals as: when virtue and goodness penetrate man’s nature as naturally as the disposition to be kind to relatives.