Eman Sakina

Imagine that you are sitting in a chair waiting to get into the doctor’s office and an older lady enters the room. There are no seats available for her to sit in. Would you pretend that you did not see her walk in or would you get up and offer her your chair?

Friday Musings

A good person would get up from the chair and invite the old lady to sit down. Respecting elders in Islam is very important because elderly people have a lot of knowledge and wisdom. They have lived for a long time and learned many things.

Old people not only need the help of younger ones but they deserve their respect too. You can learn a lot of good things from your elders. They can teach you many things from their long experience in life. Unwise children think that old people are boring, while smart kids sit and listen carefully to what the wise old people say. Older people always have interesting stories to tell filled with information and experiences they have gained in their lives. Islam emphasizes respect for the elderly. The Prophet Muhammad said:

Allah will in turn send him someone who will be kind to him when he becomes old, so, if you respect the elderly now, Allah will guide the young people to respect you when become older, Inshallah.

When you show respect to others, Allah loves you, and all His creation loves you too. 

Islam is the religion of compassion and justice, a religion that teaches perfect morals and forbids bad conduct, and a religion that grants man his dignity if he adheres to the laws of Allah.

There can be no doubt that Islam has given the elderly a special status, as there are texts which urge Muslims to respect and honor them.

The elderly person has a high status before Allah if he adheres to the laws of Allah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “No one of you should wish for death or pray for it before it comes to him, for when one of you dies, his good deeds come to an end, and nothing increases a believer’s lifespan but good.” Narrated by Muslim, 2682.

And He said: “Shall I not tell you who is the best of you? The best of you is the one who lives the longest life if he is righteous and does good deeds.” al-Albaani said in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah (2498): And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The best of you are those who live the longest and do the best deeds.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3263.

An old man came wanting to see the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the people did not make way for him. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “He is not one of us who does not show mercy to our young ones and respect our old ones.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1919.

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We should therefore try to spend a lot of time with our elders and show them the love and care that they deserve.