At Their Feet - Piety Towards Parents

Allāh the Most High Said: “And your Lord has decreed that you

worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents...”

[17:23]

After Allāh Almighty, there is none who has realised a greater

favour to any person than one’s own parents. His mother bore him

in extreme difficulty and went through great hardship and trouble

while carrying him. Both parents performing their best in raising

him, providing love and compassion and working hard to spend on

him; spending sleepless nights tending to him while ignoring their

own wants and desires.

Islām has gone to great lengths in impressing piety towards parents

and indicating reward and punishment associated to it. A person

with basic common sense understands the rights of the one who

renders favours to him; not recognising such rights is from the most

deprived qualities one can assume. A person who is dutiful and good

to his parents should know that no matter how diligent he is towards

them, he can never repay or thank them for their rights and privileges

granted to them by Allāh.

The renowned and eminent scholar, Ibn al-Jawzī penned this emotive

book upon witnessing disregard and neglect some of the youth in his

time had for their parents and kin, and not regarding it to be a necessary

part of religion. He therefore felt the need to compile a short tract on

these obligations so that the unaware may take heed and reassess the

shortfalls in regards to their own obligations. He arranged it into

seamless chapters touching on divine basis for being dutiful to parents

and enjoining ties of kinship. This English rendering of Ibn al-Jawzī’s

‘Birrul Wālidayn’ will assuredly lead to marked positive realignment

of our own relationships with our parents and families.

And Allāh grants the means and ability to whomsoever He Wills.