Do not raise your voice above their voices...

Do not raise your voice above their voices, or your hands above theirs, and do not walk ahead of them.” [^1] All this means that you should not hurt them. Ibn Mahboob quoted on the authority of Khalid ibn Nafih Bujali on the authority of Muhammad ibn Marwan on the authority of Imam Sadiq : إنّ رجلا أتىَ النبيّ (ص) فقال: يا رسول الله أوصني، فقال: “A man went to see the Prophet and asked him for advice.

The Prophet said: لا تُشرك بالله شيئاً وإن حُرقتَ بالنار وعُذّبت إلا وقلبك مُطمئنٌّ بالإيمان، ووالديك فأطِعهُما وبرّهما حييَّن كانا أو ميّتَين، وإن أمراك أن تخرج مِن أهلك ومالك فافعل فإنّ ذلك مِن الإيمان. “Do not set any partners for God even if you are tortured or burnt in fire, but that your heart should be secure in faith. Obey your parents, and be kind to them whether they are living or deceased.

If they order you to leave your family and your possessions, do so, since that is part of faith.” [^2] Ali ibn Ibrahim quoted on the authority of Muhammad ibn Esa ibn Ubayd on the authority of Yunus ibn Abdul Rahman on the authority of Durust ibn Abi Mansoor on the authority of Imam Kazim : “A man asked the Noble Prophet about the right of a father incumbent upon his child. The Prophet replied: لا يُسمّيه باسمه، ولا يَمشي بين يَدَيه، ولا يجلس قَبله، ولا يستسب له.

“He should not call his father by his name, and he should not walk ahead of him. He should not sit down before he does, and should not do things to cause his father to be blamed or sworn at.” [^3] Muhammad ibn Yahya quoted on the authority of so and so on the authority of Ibrahim ibn Shoaib that he told Imam Sadiq : “My father has gotten old, and is so weak that I have to accompany him to the toilet.

Should I do so?” The Prophet said: إنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ أن تَليَ ذلِكَ مِنهُ فافْعَل، وَلقّمْهُ بِيَدِكَ، فإنّه جَنّةٌ لكَ غَداً. “Do so if you can. Put food in his mouth with your own hands, and you will see that your reward will be the Garden of Heaven in the Hereafter.” [^4] Therefore, Imam Sadiq recommends that children take care of their parents when they get old and weak just as they did when the children were young and weak.

The establishment of homes for the elderly can be justified today if they are to house ill, poor, homeless and lonely old people, or those elders who want to live in such homes themselves.

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