Golden Words of Allah

By Abdullahi Yusuf

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All perfect praise is due to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, the Lord of the Worlds. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah, and Muhammad (pbuh), is His slave and final Messenger.

1. Taking Care of Parents – Islam places immense importance on honouring and taking care of one’s parents. This obligation stems from the fundamental belief in Tawhid (Oneness of God) and the understanding that obeying parents, except in matters of Shirk (associating partners with God), is akin to obeying Allah. Here’s a breakdown of the Islamic perspective on caring for parents, incorporating references from Sahih Muslim:

Obligation and Importance
Quranic Reference: “And We have enjoined upon man (care) for his parents. His mother carried him with hardship upon hardship, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the (final) destination. But if they strive to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them. But accompany them in this world with appropriate kindness and follow the way of those who turn back to Me (in repentance). To Me will be your return, and I will inform you about what you used to do.” (Quran 17:23-25)

Hadith: Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) as saying: “Shall I not inform you of the greatest sins?” They said: “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He said: “Associating anything with Allah, and killing a soul whom Allah has forbidden, and disobeying one’s parents.” (Sahih Muslim 6191)

2. Gambling – In Islam, gambling is not considered to be a simple game or frivolous pastime. The Quran often condemns gambling and alcohol together in the same verse, recognizing both as a social disease which is addictive and destroys personal and family lives.

“Satan plans to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer. Will you not then abstain?” (Quran 5:91).

Hadith: The Prophet Muhammad pbuh said: “Whosoever says to his companion: ‘Come let us play a game of chance or gamble’, should give charity (as atonement)” (Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim).

3. The Grave (Qabr) – One of the fearsome stages of the Hereafter is the grave, which calls out daily: “I am the abode of loneliness, I am the house of terror, I am the home of worms.” Death marks the end of physical life on the earth, while simultaneously opening the door to the endless life hereafter. Soon after death, the physical body of believers is buried with utmost reverence in a specially dug place on the earth called Qabr. It keeps nothing but the dead with white clothes. To put it metaphorically, the afterlife is an infinite journey during which Qabr comes as the first station; a comfortable place of resting for some and a horrible place of questioning, interrogation and punishment for many.

Hadith: “When a man dies, his good deeds come to an end, except three: Ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, and a righteous child who will pray for him.” (Sahih Muslim)

4. Child Upbringing – Parents hold enormous leverage in what they teach their children and how they grow as adults. Islam, therefore, holds parents responsible for steering their children’s upbringing according to the guidelines of the Quran and the Prophet’s (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) traditions.

Allah (SWT) states in the Quran about the need to raise families in the light of their end destination, which may be translated in the following words:

“O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded” (Tahrim 66:6).

Hadith: The Prophet (s) said: “Allah (SWT) will ask every caretaker about the people under his care, and the man will be asked about the people of his household”(Nasa’i, Abu Da’ud).

5. Respect for Authority – Allah, may He be glorified, forbade the Muslims to insult or revile the gods of the polytheists whom the latter worshipped besides Allah, even though they are false, lest that be a cause of the polytheists reviling the True God, may He be glorified, in support of their false gods and in retaliation against the Muslims for what they said.

Quran: “And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge. Thus We have made fair-seeming to each people its own doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all that they used to do” [al-An‘aam 6:108]”.

Hadith: Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Allah, may He be exalted, forbade His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and the believers to revile the gods of the polytheists, even though there was an interest to be served by that, lest that result in a greater evil, namely the polytheists’ responding by reviling the God of the believers, namely Allah besides Whom there is no other god.

And Allah knows best…

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