SERVICE TO PARENTS

Hadrat Sharfuddin was revered as a man of great piety (May Allah’s Mercy be upon him). He respected his father and mother very much. He always obeyed them and showed his ever-readiness to be on attendance on them. It so happened that one day when he was yet a small child, his mother was resting on a bedstead and suddenly felt thirsty. She told her son: “My beloved son! I am feeling thirsty. Please get me a glass (katora) of water. “He ran to fetch some water. By the time he returned with a cup of water, he found his mother asleep. He was in a fix as to what to do then! If he awakened her she would be disturbed. He therefore thought it proper not to wake her up. With the cup of water in hand, he stood by her, thinking that any moment she might wake up and ask for water. At last his mother, woke up from sleep, and, to her amazement, saw her beloved son waiting with the glass of water in hand, all the night through.

The mother asked; “My son! Have you been waiting all this while?”

Yes dear Mother! I have been waiting, so that the moment you wake up I may offer you water you asked for, “the son replied.

His mother was immensely pleased when she heard the reply. She prayed unto Allah for the welfare of her noble son. Accordingly he grew in moral stature to be a great saint, in his later life.

EXERCISES
1. Narrate this story in your own words.
2. What services do you render to your father and mother?

TO GREET

The answer to the Islamic salutation,’Assalam O Alaikum’ [peace be with (or upon) you] is, Wa Alaikum As-Salam’ [and with you (be) the peace, too]. Such mutual greeting begets love. Hadrat Abdullah, the son of the great Caliph, Hadrat Umar, was well aware of this fact. He used to observe that the Apostle of Allah greeted every big and small person he came across. He used to greet even the children whom he met on the way while they played about happily. How could Hadrat Abdullah miss the thing which the prophet (pbuh) was doing habitually? He too showed his utmost zeal in greeting others.

So much was Hadrat Abdullah impressed by the winsome mode of greeting of the Holy prophet (pbuh) that in later life he made it his practice to go to the bazaar, only to find an opportunity to greet people. He greeted every shop-keeper, every destitute person and every passerby whom he came across on the way.

One day a person asked him:
“Hadrat! Every day you come to the bazaar, but, you do not buy anything, nor you sit anywhere. Why do you come out at all, if one could know?

He said:”I come out only to greet the people.”

According to Hadrat Abdullah, visiting bazaar merely for the sake of greeting people was in no way less important than any purposeful visit to bazaar to make purchases.

He said: “I come out only to greet the people.”

According to Hadrat Abdullah, visiting bazaar merely for the sake of greeting people was in no way less important than any purposeful visit to bazaar.

EXERCISES
What was the purpose of Hadrat Abdullah in going to bazaar?
What are the virtues of greetings?
What are the etiquettes of greetings in Islam?