What does Islam say about kindness to parents (birr al-wālidayn)?
The Qur'an places the rights of parents immediately after the rights of Allah. The scholars explained what that really demands — in speech, in service, and in the smallest looks.
9 passages from 5 books in the library
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 5 books by Ibn Kathir, Ibn Battuta, and Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"Unhappy Allah mentioned the exchange between him and his father the argument in the dialogues and how he called his father to the truth"
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"Then what disgrace could be greater than my far-removed father being in hell Allah will say I have forbidden paradise to the disbelievers"
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"I fear that there will touch you a punishment from the most merciful so you would be to Satan a companion his father replied"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
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"The jurist Hussein recounted that one of his sons renounced his faith after his father, defiantly ordering the tree to be uprooted entirely, which was done."
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"After their father's death, they were released from prison, and the Sultan told them not to return to their previous actions."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
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"Mere contracting with a woman prohibits her mothers, but not her descendants, unless intercourse occurs, or if his father or son had married her before."
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"Second, the consent of the woman, especially if she is an adult widow or an adult virgin, not being married off by her father or grandfather."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"It is also narrated from Ibn Abi Ma'sarah that whenever he went to bed, he would say, if only my mother had not given birth to me."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"making him a father to them, and they were equal in his sight regarding the truth, though some narrators remain unnamed."
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