The Wisdom of Luqman: The Importance of Gratitude to Allah

Opening

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen, wassalatu wassalamu ala Rasoolil Ameen.

Allah mentions in the Glorious Qur'an:

And the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

("Stay close to her, for indeed Paradise is beneath her feet." — Sunan al-Nasa'i, Hadith 3104)

We begin with the du'a of Musa alayhis salaam:

أَمَّا بَعْدُ

The Wisdom of Luqman and the Command of Gratitude

Allah mentions a list of ayat — a list of different advices that Luqman alayhis salaam gives his son. And he starts the list of advices:

That surely We have given Luqman alayhis salaam hikmah — which is what? To thank Allah.

That whoever thanks Allah, in reality it is only in benefit of himself. That us thanking Allah will not benefit Allah in any way — rather it only helps us. Why? Because Allah is Ghaniyyun Hameed — He is independent. He doesn't need anything from us.

The Story of the Rich Man and the Poor Man with Musa alayhis salaam

It is mentioned in the story of Musa alayhis salaam that one time two people came to him. One person was rich and another was extremely poor. The rich person came to Musa alayhis salaam and said, "Ya Musa, could you please ask your Lord to reduce what I have, to stop giving me so much — because I have so much, I don't have any use for it." And then the poor person came to Musa alayhis salaam and said, "Ya Musa, can you please go to your Lord and request for Him to give me something. I have nothing, I'm so poor." He only had one piece of cloth on his body. That's all he had.

So Musa alayhis salaam went to Allah, he spoke to Him. And then he came back and went to the rich person and said, "Allah said to you that if you want Him to stop giving you so much, then stop making shukr to Allah. Stop thanking Allah for everything He has given you." But the rich person said, "How could I possibly do that? Allah has given me so much — why would I not be thankful for everything He has given me?"

And then Musa alayhis salaam went to the poor person and told him, "Allah told you that if you want to receive something, if you want Allah to give you more, then make shukr — give thanks to Allah for everything He has given you." But the poor person said, "What do I have to thank Allah for? I have nothing. I can't thank Him for anything." And then a gust of wind came and the one piece of cloth he had on his body flew away — and he had absolutely nothing.

So we see that if we make shukr to Allah, He will increase what we have. But again, it is only for our benefit — not for Allah's benefit.

The Advices of Luqman alayhis salaam to His Son

And the next ayah, Allah mentions:

That Luqman alayhis salaam tells his son: "Oh my beloved son, do not make partners with Allah, for indeed it is a great zulm — it is a great oppression." Because shirk is one of the greatest sins that one can do.

And then there is a skip of two verses, and then the advice of Luqman alayhis salaam continues:

"Oh my beloved son, establish salah, enjoin good, forbid evil, and be patient upon the different calamities that come to you."

"Do not turn away from the people arrogantly, do not walk in an arrogant manner."

"Walk in a noble and honorable manner, and do not speak too loud." These are different advices Luqman alayhis salaam is giving his son.

And through these there is a small point that we can get of how beautiful Islam is — that every single thing in Islam is completely laid out. From the beginning: how to walk, how to eat, when someone comes to your house how to host them, when you go to someone else's house how to act. The different ways to do everything are completely and clearly laid out by Allah and Nabi صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And this is something which other religions, sadly, do not have. But Alhamdulillah, Allah has given us a complete religion where there is no ambiguity.

The Rights of Parents — Especially the Mother

Now going back to those two verses that were in the middle. Allah mentions different advices regarding the parents:

Allah mentions that We advise mankind regarding their parents. And then He goes on to list different difficulties that a mother goes through. But one might ask — why was "parents" mentioned, but then it goes into more explanation regarding the mother? Qadi Abu Su'ud mentions that the reason for Allah going into detail about the mother is because of the fadila — Allah gives her a higher rank over the father.

And it is also mentioned in a hadith that a man came to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and asked him: "Who is the person most deserving of my kind treatment?" Nabi صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ responded, "Your mother." The person again asked, "Who is next after that?" Nabi صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ again said, "Your mother." For a third time the person asked, "Who is next?" Nabi صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said, "Your mother." And then the fourth time the person asked, "Who is next?" And then Nabi صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said, "Your father."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5971; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2548)

So we see the level that Allah and Nabi صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ give to the mother. And the reason for this is because of the different difficulties they go through. There is a qa'ida in fiqh that says that the benefit someone receives is in accordance — in relation to — the responsibilities they are given. The mother is given such a high responsibility from Allah: number one, carrying the child for nine months; then giving birth to the child; then breastfeeding the child; then doing the tarbiyah of the child. All of these we will go into later. But there are so many things the mother is given responsibility of, and it is because of that she is given this higher rank over the father.

The Sacrifices of the Mother

So the ayah goes on: the mother carried the child for nine months — difficulty upon difficulty, hardship upon hardship. Every single day that we were in our mother's womb, every day that passed, we grew heavier and heavier, became a heavier burden on them — not only physically, but the nutrition of our mother we took as well.

Then after those nine months, the mother went through the most brutal task she would probably go through in her life — which is childbirth. She puts her body in a near-death state just to make sure that we can come into this world. And many mothers, unfortunately, do not recover from this. But the mother does not care about this. All she wants is for the child to come into this world. And this is something that the father will never feel — this kind of pain.

The mother then breastfeeds the child for two years, and then she weans the child — again giving up her body for the child. And then the mother also has the task of doing the tarbiyah of the child, raising the child. This is something specifically given to the mother. And many times the mother also gives up her career, her work, and her education just for the child. And when we are sick, what does the mother do? She stays by our side. She doesn't care if she gets sick — all she cares about is that the child is comfortable.

How We Should Treat Our Parents

And unfortunately, after all of this, we have the audacity to speak to our mothers — to talk to them in a way which is not appropriate for any person. Allah mentions in the Qur'an:

Do not even say the utterance أُفّ to them. This lafz أُفّ is when you have disdain or dislike towards something. Even if you do not like something your parents did, do not show that — do not show any disdain or dislike because of what they did. Rather:

Lay down the wings of humility, be kind to them, and ask Allah — Allah mentions in this du'a to make for our parents:

"Oh my beloved Lord, have mercy on my parents, just as they raised me when I was a child." This is a beautiful du'a that we should always make for our parents — whether it is after the salah, or anytime we make du'a, we should include this du'a.

Cursing One's Parents — A Major Sin

It is mentioned in a hadith that Abdullah ibn Amr r.a. narrates:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5973; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 90)

The Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that indeed, it is from the greatest of major sins — not only the greatest of sins, but the greatest of major sins — that a person curses his own parents. The Sahabah were shocked. They asked:

"How could someone curse his own parents?" The Rasulullah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

"A person will curse the father of another person, and then that person will then curse this person's father or mother." So if we see the amount of sin — the major sin — that we get by just cursing someone else's parents, imagine the sin that we get if we curse our own parents.

And this is something that unfortunately is widespread today — not only in the non-Muslim community, but the Muslim community itself — that people have no respect for their parents. That even if someone has the ability to take care of their parents, the entire concept of sending your parents to a retirement home is completely against the teachings of Islam. Because Allah tells us that we should take care of our parents when they grow older — it is our responsibility. So that is something we should take into account for ourselves: are we ready, are we going to take care of our parents when they are older?

How to Practically Take Care of Our Parents

There are multiple things we should think about regarding our parents — how should we take care of them? They are ready to give up their lives for us. Are we ready to even take care of them when they are older?

Sufyan ibn Uyaynah رحمه الله mentions:

The person who prays five salah every single day has made shukr to Allah. But the person who makes du'a after those five salah has made shukr to his parents — he has thanked his parents. So again, after every single salah, we should make sure to make du'a for our parents, for the different things they have given us.

And those parents who are still alive — we should make sure to take the opportunity to take care of them and serve them until this door is closed from us forever. If you ask someone whose parents have passed away, the one thing they will all say is: "I wish I could have done more. I wish I could have treated them better. I wish I could have served them in more ways." So if we have this opportunity, we should take advantage of it.

If we live close to them, we should try and serve them as much as possible. Say, one week I take care of the dishes, one week I take care of the lawn — just something to take the burden off of their shoulders. And those parents who live farther from us, we should make sure to keep in contact with them. Call your mother every single day. Even if it is for five minutes, I promise you those five minutes will be valuable to her — she will cherish those five minutes. Those five minutes will make her day. Why? Because the mother is a person who is very easy to please because of the amount of love she has for us. So all we have to do is put in that effort. And insha'Allah, we will reap those benefits not only in this dunya but in the akhirah as well.

For Those Whose Parents Have Passed Away

And those parents who have passed away — we must make du'a for them, and we must also send isal al-thawab to them. It is mentioned in a narration that a man will come on the Day of Judgment, and he will be in Jannah, and he will have such a high rank in Jannah. He will ask Allah: "Ya Allah, how did I reach this high rank? I know I didn't deserve this rank. How did I get to this rank?" Allah will say: "It is because of the du'as and the seeking of forgiveness of your pious children that you have received this rank."

So we must make du'a for our parents and have that yaqeen that Allah will forgive them — and through our isal al-thawab to them. Recite Surah Yasin every single day. Pray two rakat every single day and send it to them. And insha'Allah, that will go to them as well.

Closing Du'a

I ask Allah that He allows us to treat our parents in the way they ought to be treated. And those parents who have passed away — may Allah allow them to enter Jannah and be granted entry without reckoning. Ameen.

Announcements

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Beginning next Friday, insha'Allah — November 8th — the Jumu'ah timings will be adjusted as follows due to the daylight savings time change. The first salah: the English talk will start at 12:00 PM and iqamah will be at 12:25 PM. The second salah: the English talk will start at 1:00 PM and the iqamah will be at 1:30 PM.

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The Sunday School weekend class for boys and girls is now open. Students will be engaged in a curriculum that covers du'a, hadith, adab, sunnah, and Qur'an. Enrollments are open at masjidds.org.

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Our weekly program Team Fajr will be tomorrow after Fajr Salah. Fajr Iqamah is at 6:15 AM. We have a special guest, Shaykh Yusuf Bakir — the Youth Director of Valley Ranch Islamic Center.

Tuesday Tafsir will continue after Isha Salah with Mufti Ali Muddin on Surah Fussilat. And the weekly Urdu Seerah program with Maulana Abdul Basit is every Thursday after Isha Salah, insha'Allah.

And please make du'a for the brothers and sisters in Palestine, Lebanon, and the entire Muslim Ummah, insha'Allah.

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — Brother Mir Azmat Ali has passed away. His janazah salah will be held immediately after the fard salah in the gymnasium, insha'Allah. The sisters are requested to please go to the banquet hall. Jazakumullah Khayran.