Shafaqna India- The Right of Mother (23rd): Commentary on Imam Sajjad’s (AS) Treaties of Right by Mohammad Sobhanie.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَأمَّا حَقُّ أَبيكَ فَتَعْلَــــــــــمَ أنَّهُ أَصْلُكَ، وَأنَّكَ فَرْعُــــــهُ، وَأَنَّكَ لَوْلاهُ لَمْ تَكُنْ. فَمَهْمَــــــــــا رَأيْتَ فِي نفْسِكَ مِمَّا يُعْجِبُكَ فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ أَبَاكَ أَصْلُ النِّعْمَةِ عَلَيْكَ فِيهِ وَاحْمَــــــــــــــــــدِ اللَّهَ وَاشْكُرْهُ عَلَى قَدْرِ ذَلِكَ وَلا قُوَّةَ إلاّ باللهِ.
The Right of Father (23rd)
The right of your father is that you should know that he is your origin, and you are his branch. Without him, you would not exist. Whenever you see anything in yourself that pleases you, you should know that your father is the origin of the blessing upon you. So, praise God and thank Him in recognition of that. And there is no power but in God.
Commentary: Imam Sajjad (AS) teaches that our existence originates from our father, like a branch stemming from a tree (أنَّهُ أَصْلُكَ، وَأنَّكَ فَرْعُــــــهُ). And without father, we would not have existed (وَأَنَّكَ لَوْلاهُ لَمْ تَكُنْ).
Just as a branch receives nutrition from the trunk, the blessings we experience in life come from our connection to our fathers. Of course, Allah (SWT) is the Lord of all blessings and goodness, and He bestows His blessings upon us through our connection to our parents. Hence, Imam Sajjad (AS) emphasizes that fathers are the root and source of blessings for their children (أَنَّ أَبَاكَ أَصْلُ النِّعْمَةِ). Therefore, children should express gratitude to Allah (SWT) by showing kindness and respect to their father.
The Qur’an decrees in five verses that we should worship God and immediately mentions that we should be good to our parents. The mention of being dutiful to parents after worshiping God emphasizes the importance of respecting and caring for one’s parents. For instance, verse 17:23 reads[1]:
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۚ … ﴿٢٣﴾
17:23 Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship anyone except Him, and [He has enjoined] to be good to parents (beyond your duty).
One day, Ibrahim bin Shu’aib (إبراهيم بن شعيب) told Imam Sadiq (AS) that his father was old and feeble, and he needed assistance with his daily chores. The Imam (AS) encouraged him to continue helping his father and suggested taking it a step further by feeding him by putting a morsel in his mouth[2].
Imam Mohammad Baqr (AS) said that Allah (SWT) has not permitted anyone to[3]:
- Violate the return of entrusted items to their owner, regardless of whether the owner is righteous or wicked.
- Break promises made to the righteous or wicked.
- Neglect care for one’s parents, regardless of whether parents are righteous or wicked.
Imam Kazim (AS) narrates someone asked the Prophet (PBUH) about the father’s rights over the children. The Prophet’s (SAWA) response was[4]:
- Don’t call him by his name.
- Do not walk ahead of him.
- Do not sit earlier than him.
- Do not do something that will cause people to insult him
Meaning of “iihsan” (إِحْسَان)[5]: The word “iihsan” (إِحْسَان) means 1) doing righteous deeds[6] 2) doing good to others[7] and 3) doing good deeds the best way[8].
When you reciprocate a good deed to the same extent that you have received from someone, this is called a fair return of kindness. For instance, if someone treats you to a sandwich for lunch, you also show gratitude by treating them to a sandwich.
Conversely, if you reciprocate someone’s kindness in a way that exceeds the original gesture, this is called “iihsan” (إِحْسَان) in Islamic teaching. For instance, treating someone to a nice meal in return for a simple sandwich is considered Ihsan. In other words, Ihsan involves fulfilling and going above and beyond the duty.
In the commentary of verse 16:90 (An-Nahl):
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ … ﴿٩٠﴾
16:90 Verily, Allah enjoins justice (‘adl) and benevolence (ihsan),
Amir al-Muminin Ali (AS) said[9],[10], “Here ‘adl (الْعَدْلُ) means fairness and ihsan (الاْحْسَانُ) means favor.”
Therefore, the term “wabialwalidayn ‘iihsanan” (وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا), means being good to our parents beyond our duty.
Notes:
[1] Al-Isra, 17:23
[2] http://shiaonlinelibrary.com/الكتب/1123_الكافي-الشيخ-الكليني-ج-٢/الصفحة_162
[3] http://shiaonlinelibrary.com/الكتب/1123_الكافي-الشيخ-الكليني-ج-٢/الصفحة_162#top
[4] http://shiaonlinelibrary.com/ الكتب/1123_الكافي-الشيخ-الكليني-ج-٢/الصفحة_159#top
[5] https://wiki.ahlolbait.com/احسان#cite_note-10
[6] Az-Zumar, 39:10 (لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا فِي هَٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةٌ ۗ)
[7] Al-Baqara, 2:83 (وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا)
[8] Al-Mulk, 67:2 (أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ)
[9] (الْعَدْلُ الاْنْصَافُ، وَالاْحْسَانُ التَّفَضُّلُ)
[10] https://www.al-islam.org/nahjul-balagha-part-2-letters-and-sayings/selections-sayings-and-preaching-amir-al-muminin-ali#hadith-n-231