We begin by praising Allah the most gracious and the most merciful, sending blessings and salutations upon Muhammad. We ask the Almighty to bless him and his entire household; those who supported him from day one. And we ask Allah to bless all his companions as well as every single one of us and our offspring to come up to the day of qiyāmah. My dear brothers and sisters in Islām, Assalamu alaykum warahmadullahi wabarakatuhu.
We know that Islam is the only religion of compassion and justice, a religion that teaches us perfect morals and forbids us from bad conducts, a religion that grants man his dignity, if he adheres to the laws of Allah and the sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).There can be no doubt that Islam has given the elderly a special status, as there are many sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) which urge Muslims to respect and honour them.
Allah says in the Quran, in surah al isra chapter no.17 verse no.23
"وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ إِلاَّ إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلاَهُمَا فَلاَ تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ وَلاَ تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلاً كَرِيمًا".
“And your Lord has decreed that you should not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff" and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word”.
This ayah regarding the respect given to the parents when they have reached the old age shows us the importance of giving the elders their due respect whether they are our parents or not. This ayah also tells us about the way of talking to the elders, we cannot raise our voice above their voice out of anger or disappointment, we cannot even say a word as much as uff, We have to accept whatever they say in a kind and a polite way, there should be no signs of anger or even frustration during their presence. The Quran says 11 times to be kind to elderly parents in particular; in fact, mistreating or showing disrespect to elders can result in being denied admission to paradise.
My dear brothers and sisters, the Quran and the Hadith are very clear on the proper attitude and behavior toward one's elders. One hadith says that respecting and serving the elderly is akin to serving Allah and is a part of glorifying Him, narrated by Abu Musa Al Ash’ari (R.A.A): the Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
"إِنَّ مِنْ إِجْلاَلِ اللَّهِ إِكْرَامَ ذِي الشَّيْبَةِ الْمُسْلِمِ وَحَامِلِ الْقُرْآنِ غَيْرِ الْغَالِي فِيهِ وَالْجَافِي عَنْهُ وَإِكْرَامَ ذِي السُّلْطَانِ الْمُقْسِطِ"
“Glorifying Allah involves showing honor to a grey-haired Muslim and to one who can expound the Quran, but not to one who acts extravagantly regarding it, or turns away from it, and showing honor to a just ruler”
Showing honour and respect to an elderly person is a part of glorifying Allah as we can see from the hadees which I mentioned earlier. When you respect your elders you care about how they feel. You believe that their ideas, thoughts and feelings are important. Allah wants all young and old Muslims to be respectful to each other. When you show respect to others, Allah loves you, and all His creation loves you too
Did you know that a youngster who shows respect to an elderly person will be respected when he reaches old age? In the hadees narrated by Anas (R.A.A) saying that the Holy Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)said:
"مَا أَكْرَمَ شَابٌّ شَيْخًا لِسِنِّهِ إِلَّا قَيَّضَ اللَّهُ لَهُ مَنْ يُكْرِمُهُ عِنْدَ سِنِّهِ".
“Any young person who is kind to an elderly person because of his age, Allah will send him someone who will be kind to him when he becomes old”.
This shows us how beneficial it is for us when we do make an effort to look after elders and have patience with them. Indeed, we are reminded that if Allah wills for us to live until that age, we will also experience the trials of old age. May Allah grant the elderly strength and may He reward those who help the elderly.
My dear brothers and sisters I would like to conclude by mentioning an incident which took place during the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammed (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).
A hadith narrated by Amr bin Shu'aib that his father, from his grandfather, tells the story of an old man who came wanting to see the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) but how the crowd of listeners around the Prophet Muhammad failed to make room for that elderly man to get closer. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) observed this failure and said,
" لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ لَمْ يَرْحَمْ صَغِيرَنَا وَيَعْرِفْ شَرَفَ كَبِيرِنَا "
“He is not one of us who does not have mercy upon our young, nor knows the honor of our elders."
I would like to windup by glorifying Allah and asking Him to be merciful to our parents as they raised us when we were young, to grant us ease and to be obedient to you in a manner that pleases you! And by your grace include us in the company of the rightly guided servants of yours!
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