Parents – The Best of Jihad (Hadith No. 2644)

Bismillah.

Ahadith 2642 – 2643 (below) are repeats. Read the related post here.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 246 :
Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu)
Umar bin Al-Khattab (radiallaahu `anhu) gave a horse to be ridden in Allah’s Cause and then he found it being sold. He intended to purchase it. So, he consulted Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) who said, “Don’t buy it and don’t take back your gift of charity.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 247 :
Narrated by Aslam
I heard ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (radiallaahu `anhu) saying, “I gave a horse to be ridden in Allah’s Cause and the person who got it intended to sell it or neglected it. So, I wanted to buy it as I thought he would sell it cheap. I consulted the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) who said, “Do not buy it even if for one Dirham, because he who takes back his gift is like a dog swallowing its vomit.”

Today’s Hadith:

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 248 :
Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr (radiallaahu `anhu)
A man came to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asking his permission to take part in Jihad. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) asked him, “Are your parents alive?” He replied in the affirmative. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to him, “Then exert yourself in their service.”

Many things can be said about this, evidences brought from Quran and Sunnah to prove further importance of this hadith.. but I’ll mention here a story or two of the sahabah and their way of honoring and serving their parents. We hope and wish to be as dutiful as they were. May Allah make us more like them in all aspects of the deen.

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Dinaar from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar that a man from among the Bedouins met him on the road to Makkah. ‘Abd-Allaah greeted him with salaam, seated him on the donkey that he was riding and gave him a turban that he had been wearing on his head. Ibn Dinar said: We said to him: May Allaah guide you, they are just Bedouins and they would be content with little. ‘Abd-Allaah said: The father of this man was a friend of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab and I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The best act of kindness is for the son to uphold ties (of friendship) with those who were his father’s friends.” Narrated by Muslim, 2552.

According to another report narrated by Ibn ‘Umar: when he went out to Makkah, he had a donkey which he would ride when he got tired of riding his camel, and a turban which he tied around his head. One day whilst he was riding that donkey, a Bedouin passed by him. He said: Are you not So and so, the son of So and so? He said: Yes. He gave him the donkey that he was riding and said: Ride it. And he gave him the turban that he had been wearing on his head, and he said: Tie it around your head. Some of his companions said: May Allaah forgive you, you have given this Bedouin a donkey that you used to ride when you got tired of riding your camel and a turban that you used to wear on your head. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The best act of kind of kindness is for a man to honour his father’s friend after he has died,” and (this man’s) father was a friend of ‘Umar.

Abu Hurayrah was appointed in charge of Madeenah by Marwaan. He lived in Dhu’l-Hulayfah (approximately ten kilometers from Madeenah) and his mother lived in one house and he lived in another. When he wanted to go out he would stand at her door, and say: Peace be upon you, O my mother, and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings. And she would say: And upon you, O my son, and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings. And he would say: May Allaah have mercy on you, as you brought me up when I was young. And she would say: May Allaah have mercy on you as you took care of me when I grew old. Then when he wanted to come in, he would do likewise.

[Taken from IslamQA]

Most of us, if not all, have parents alive today whom we take for granted. We think they’ll always be there to listen to our rants and tantrums, give in to our wishes sacrificing their own and make life better for us in every way possible. What we fail to do is imagine a world without them, to realize that there’ll come a time when they won’t be there anymore.. their comforting voice, their soothing touch and their reassuring presence – all gone. Yes, we’ll probably live to see that day when they’ll breathe their last. We might even be there holding their hand at that moment feeling devastated but unable to do anything about it. We fail to imagine all that and so we fail to serve our parents to the fullest while they’re alive and with us. We fail to honor them and to be dutiful to them as they deserve to be honored and obeyed. And hence we fail to succeed in the best of all jihads: parents.

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