Translation: Aboo Aamaal Misbaah Olagunju
The Ninth Counsel (O Student of Knowledge) is:
أداء الحقوق
FULFILLING THE RIGHTS (I)
Fulfilling the rights O brothers is a great matter which none discharges except people of true belief, we have upon us a number of great rights (to fulfil)
أعظمها حق الله
The greatest of them is the right of Allah
And the one who doesn’t fulfil the right of Allah don’t ever be astonished at his abandonment of the rights of His slaves.
So be concerned about evaluating yourself in the aspect of fulfilling the right of your Lord, because the right of your Lord —the exalted— is the most important and most magnificent of rights (to be fulfilled).
حق الوالدين
The right of the parents
After fulfilling the right of Allah, concern yourself with the rights of the people which Allah has made fulfilling rights towards an obligation, and at their forefront are your parents, be wary of having your parents meet Allah while they are both angry with you, struggle with your soul upon this enormous striving; like the prophet —Allah raise his rank and grant him peace— had said concerning parents: “then strive in the service of both of them" – (Al-Bukhari: 3004), striving in the pursuit of their pleasure, striving to make them happy, striving at preventing all forms of vexation from occurring to them; as Allah —the exalted— had said:
(فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَاۤ أُفࣲّ)
”say not to them a word of disrespect” - [Surah Al-Isra' 23]
Allah prohibited us from uttering the word (Uff) and it is the easiest form of expression from the disgruntled and the angered, then what is your concern with other than it.
Be avid upon the pursuit of their pleasure, and be careful of the path from the paths of the shayaateen (devils) from amongst the mankind and the jinns, in abandoning the fulfilment of the right of the parents as a result of this confusion usually brought up by some of them: “I have siblings and the right is upon us together, why I'm I the one always championing in the affairs of my parents?” this is from the impediments of shaytaan (the devil).
And there is a matter incumbent on you to be attentive towards, and that is showing enthusiasm whenever your parents command you with an obligation, and being happy and being swift towards their services, because whenever the child fulfils the rights of the parents, but does so reluctantly and grumblingly, the parents hearts are plunged by gloom:
Firstly: as a result of the disposition of their child towards them.
Secondly: from the fear of overburdening him.
So be concerned about trying to show that you are not overburdened by any of their affairs.
And also try to show that you are not preoccupied with other duties aside their services and that you are not affected by your duties towards them, till you eventually go to attend to your own affairs, and while at it be rest assured that Allah will open to you from the doors of ease in them and bless you in your time and bless you in your work, with what will compensate for whatever time you forfeited (while serving them), regarding which the shaytaan had previously approached you whispering: “it (their affair) will waste your time, it make you forfeit your duties".
Therefore display happiness towards your parents for their demands, as a labour towards accomplishing what the prophet —Allah raise his rank and grant him peace— said:
“The pleasure of Allah is in (results from) the pleasure of the parents”,
And in converse is a warning against the opposite; because the conclusion of the hadith is:
"And the discontent (annoyance) of Allah is in (results from) the discontent (annoyance) of parents”. – ( At-Tirmidhi: 1821, Silsilah As-Saheehah: 516)
From -Wasaayaa Litulaabil Ilm (23 - 25) — Ash-Shaykh Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul'Azeez Al-‘Anqariy
