At Their Feet: Piety Towards Parents by Ibn al-Jawzi

About the Book

Allāh the Most High says: “And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents...” [17:23]

After Allāh Almighty, there is none who has realised a greater favour to any person
than one’s own parents. Our mothers bore us in extreme difficulty and went through
great hardship and trouble while carrying us. Both parents performing their best
in raising us, providing love and compassion and working hard to spend on us;
spending sleepless nights tending to us while ignoring their own wants and desires.

Islām has gone to great lengths in impressing piety towards parents and indicating
reward and punishment associated to it. A person with basic common sense
understands the rights of the one who renders favours to him; not recognising such
rights is from the most deprived qualities one can assume. A person who is dutiful and
good to one's parents should know that no matter how diligent one is towards them, one can never repay or thank them for their rights and privileges granted to them by Allāh SWT.

The renowned and eminent scholar, Ibn al-Jawzī penned this emotive book upon
witnessing disregard and neglect some of the youth in his time had for their parents
and kin, and not regarding it to be a necessary part of religion. He therefore felt the
need to compile a short tract on these obligations so that the unaware may take heed
and reassess the shortfalls in regards to their own obligations.

Ibn al-Jawzi arranged it into seamless chapters touching on divine basis for being dutiful to parents and enjoining ties of kinship. This English rendering of Ibn al-Jawzī’s ‘Birrul Wālidayn’ will assuredly lead to marked positive realignment of our own relationships with our parents andfamilies. And Allāh grants the means and ability to whomsoever He Wills.

96 pages

This book includes: 

• What Allah & the Sunnah have Commanded with Regards to Kingness to Parents & Joining Family Ties
  
• Being Good to One's Parents Increases One's Lifespan
• Reward for Spending on One's Parents
• The Sin of Disobedience to Parents
• Maintaining Relations with Parents After their Demise
• Keeping Relations with their Relatives & Friends

About the Author

Ibn al-Jawzi was a medieval Islamic scholar, jurist, and prolific author. He was born in 1116 CE in Baghdad, Iraq, and he passed away in 1201 CE. Ibn al-Jawzi belonged to the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence.

His contributions to Islamic scholarship were extensive and covered a wide range of disciplines, including theology, history, ethics, and spirituality. Ibn al-Jawzi was known for his critical approach to Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and for his emphasis on the moral and spiritual aspects of Islam.