Thank Your Parents Morning and Evening

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Allah has made it easy for us to worship Him but most people make life very difficult for themselves. Thanking our parents is not only a form of respect of them but a great worship because Allah orders us to thank Him and to thank our parents.

Allah Almighty says,

وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ وَفِصَـٰلُهُۥ فِى عَامَيْنِ أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَيْكَ إِلَىَّ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ﴿١٤

And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination. (14)

[Luqman 31:14]

Allah has conjoined the order to thank Him with the order to thank our parents. This should tell us how high the station of our parents and how important it is to thank our parents.

Respecting the station of our parents is out of respect of Allah. Your parents maybe an oppressor, idol worshipper, idol maker, may not have a good relationship with Allah, but it does not remove the obligation that Allah has put on us to respect our parents. Allah didn't ask us to look at whether they are Muslims, practicing Muslims, or whether they are good to us in order to respect them. By merely Allah made them our parents, Allah has given them that high status. Even if we cannot see the wisdom of maintaining that order, it is an order from Allah, nonetheless. We should be like those who say, "We hear and we obey."

So, if you thank your parents, you would have attained the pleasure of Allah and nearness to Him, and Allah will increase you in blessings.

Allah Almighty says,

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ
٧

And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.'(7)

[Ibrahim 14:7]

To be thankful to our parents, we do not show any type of disrespect towards them in any fashion -- with the tongue, hands, feet, eyes, ears, heart, wealth, etc. We express our thanks with good words and good actions, and we pray for our parents frequently.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, made it quite clear that expressing our gratitude to Allah by thanking Him also involves that we thank people who do favors for us.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said as narrated by Abu Hurayrah: “He who does not thank people, does not thank Allah” [Ahmad, Tirmidhi]

He also said: “Whoever does you a favor, then reciprocate, and if you cannot find anything with which to reciprocate, then pray for him until you think that you have reciprocated him” [Abu Dawood].

n another hadith, he said: “Whoever has a favor done for him and says to the one who did it, ‘Jazak Allahu khayran,’ has done enough to thank him” [Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi].

People who don't thank those people who have done them favors, we say they are being rude and self-centered. It is not that we need their thanks, for our reward is with Allah, but it is a showing of their bad manners. Most people would not take their good friends from people who are rude and thankless.

Likewise, someone who doesn't thank his parents, not only they have acted in an improper fashion, they have neglected their duty to their parents and have disobeyed Allah. Somebody who deal with his parents in an improper fashion and neglected his duties to their parents, do not trust him and don't confine in friendship with him. This is because his relationship with his parents is more of an obligation on him but he wasn't able to fulfill it, so do you really think that he is going to fulfill his obligation with you, which is less in its status than his parents?

Even if he is a good friend, he might be good to you today, or for month, year or two, but there is something that is going to break, because he is not a trustworthy person. The proof of this is that he does not fulfill his obligation on his parents and does not appreciate them.

We ask Allah help us to remember Him, to thank Him and to worship Him properly. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam