She had improved a lot, and could walk using some canes instead of a wheel-chair.
She had improved a lot, and could walk using some canes instead of a wheel-chair. The surgeon who had operated on her told me that she had recuperated and could be released in twenty-four hours. On the same day, her daughter came to the hospital to visit her. I told her that her mother had recuperated and she could take her home the next day. She did not tell me anything and went to talk with her mother.
She told her that her husband had said that they could not take her back home anymore, and that they might be able to take her to the home for the elderly. A few hours later, I was called in to check on her. She was in a very bad state and died in less than twenty-four hours. She had recuperated from a difficult surgery on her broken hip, but could not withstand her heart being broken.
Her broken heart could no longer be treated![^1] Unfortunately, we cast out our elderly from our warm and sweet homes into the homes for the elderly. This form of dealing with them has added an additional burden to their already extensive amount of problems due to aging. However, Islam has expressed its educational programs and ethics under the subject of the rights of the elders. Respect for the Elders as Viewed in Traditions The rights of the elders are respected in Islam.
Families are taught to honor and respect their elders instead of casting them out to the homes for the elderly. We will point out some of the traditions in this respect. There are several related traditions in the Chapter “Al-Isharat” in Usul al-Kafi . Abdullah ibn Sin’an narrated that Imam Sadiq said: إنَّ مِن إجْلالِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إجْلالَ الشَّيخِ الكَبيرِ.