The Fountain of God’s Unity — Page 35
forms of shirk, be they manifest or concealed. Allah further says: وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ وَهُنَّا عَلَى وَهْنٍ وَفِضَلُهُ فِي عَامَيْنِ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ إِلَى الْمَصِيرُ And We have enjoined on man con- cerning his parents-his mother bears him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning takes two years—'Give thanks to Me and to thy parents. Unto Me is the final return. Here, it is not [explicitly] said why one ought to show gratitude to one's father, but it is obvi- ous that when the mother is in difficulty, the father cares for her and also cares for the child once it is born. Another aspect of this verse is that God Almighty states that one ought to be grateful to Him but has not given a reason, so why should people be grateful to Him? The fact 1 Surah Luqman, 31:15 [Publishers] -35-