Parental rights In Islam

We do not find in holy Qur’an and Hadith so much emphasis on looking after the children as is the case with the rights of the parents and there are some reasons for too much of emphasis on the rights of parents in Islam. The Sharia (Islamic law) has put a new challenge to those who think about the rights of parents in Islam. Find out how logical this attitude about the rights of parents is in Islam. The fact is that the parent’s heart is the fountain-head of the love for the child; this affection becomes the life-blood of the parents. Holy Qur’an has alluded to this instinctive parental love in several places.On the other hand, children especially when they are no longer in need of parental care, do not feel so much love for the parents. We are not speaking about respect children are expected to show to their parents. Here the talk is about instinctive love; and experience is a reliable witness to confirm this observation. It is a known fact that sign-posts are not needed on straight highways; but at a cross-roads where several routes branch out, one cannot expect to get onto the right path without a guide or a sign-post. It is for this reason that Islam does not lay emphasis in so many words on those aspects of life which are taken care of by human nature itself. It is where the hold of natural instinct is loosened that Islam extends its helping hand and leads the individual on the right path by telling him/her what he/ she is expected to do in practical life .
It was for this reason that Islam did not explain the rights of children so forcefully, but full emphasis was laid on the rights of the parents. For these very reasons Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says: “Beware! Abstain from angering the parents. The fragrance of Paradise is perceived even at a distance of a thousand years, but those who are disobedient to parents and those who cut off ties with relatives will not be able to smell it.”… The wretchedness of the Aaq-e-Waledain is sufficiently evident from the fact that the trustworthy Jibreel (pbuh) has cursed him and said, “One who is blessed with parents but does not fulfill their (his parent’s) rights will not be forgiven (his sins) by Allah (Glory and Greatness be to Him).”When Hazrat Jibreel (AS) said this, The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) uttered, ‘Amen’!So it is for the present generation youth to understand the importance of parental rights in Islam.