From silent sacrifice to answered prayers: the father’s sacred trust
All praise belongs to God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful, who made the father the middle gate of Paradise. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner, and I bear witness that our master and Prophet Muḥammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger.
O Allah, send prayers, peace, and blessings upon him, upon his family, his companions, and all who follow his guidance thereafter.
To proceed: I counsel you, servants of Allah and myself, to have taqwā of Allah. Exalted is He who says: “And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and honor the ties of kinship. Surely Allah is ever Watchful over you.” (Qurʾān 4:1)
O believers: Our sermon today is about a great man, possessing a merciful heart and a noble station. He is the spring that never runs dry, the river of giving that continually overflows. He is the father. Allah Most High swore by him when He said: “And by the father and what he fathered.” (Qurʾān 90:3)
And there is no wonder in this, for the father is the pillar of the family and its foundation, its fortress and support, its provider and bearer of responsibility. He surrounds his family with his heart and cares for them with his very soul. Have you seen the concern of Yaʿqūb (peace be upon him) for his son, and the sorrow he felt at his absence, when he said to his sons: “Indeed, it grieves me that you should take him away.” (Qurʾān 12:13)
And did you not see how his condition changed when he lost him? “And his eyes turned white from grief, while he suppressed his sorrow.” (Qurʾān 12:84)
Such is the father: he loves without asking anything in return, he gives without seeking payment. He struggles throughout the day, then leaves his worries at the doorstep so he may enter smiling before his children, all while his greatest concern is to see happiness upon their faces.
He hopes for them a life nobler than the one he lived and an education better than the one he received.That is the father.
He spends the prime of his life raising and educating his children, spending his cherished wealth for their elevation. He suffers silently, carrying his burdens alone without complaining to his family — out of mercy for them and to protect their hearts.
“And Allah knows well what lies within the hearts.” (Qurʾān 3:154)
How many nights has he remained awake while they slept? How many situations did he endure patiently for their sake while they never realized? Ask the orphan about his state without his father: how much tenderness he lost, how much care and concern, how much support and assistance. How deeply the absence of the father leaves within the heart a void that nothing can replace. How astonishing then is the son who does not appreciate the blessing of his father’s presence: raising his voice against him, frowning in his face, avoiding him, and mocking his opinion. Does he not know that Allah coupled kindness to parents with worship of Him? “Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you show excellence to your parents.” (Qurʾān 17:23)
Has he not heard the words of the Prophet (PBUH): “The pleasure of the Lord lies in the pleasure of the father, and the anger of the Lord lies in the anger of the father.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
So fear Allah regarding your fathers.The father’s heart is delicate even if he appears stern. His feelings are sensitive even if he remains silent. He suffers from the disobedience of his child more than he suffers from bodily illness. His chest tightens from a harsh glance or a hard tone that the son considers insignificant while, to the father, it is immense. So what will become of the undutiful child on the Day of Resurrection? “The Day every soul will find before it whatever good it has done and whatever evil it has done, wishing there were a great distance between it and that evil.” (Qurʾān 3:30)
On that day he will be questioned about every glance and every word. He will be questioned about his dutifulness and his disobedience, his goodness and his wrongdoing.Therefore, O son: remain committed to honoring your father and serving him, continue obeying him, fulfill his needs, do not quarrel with your siblings and thereby grieve him, seek his counsel, kiss his head and his hand, honor him as he deserves. Learn from Fāṭimah (may Allah be pleased with her) the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), who: “Whenever the Prophet (PBUH) entered upon her, she would stand for him, take his hand, kiss him, and seat him in her place.” (Reported by Abū Dāwūd)
Dedicate some of your time to your father. Spend from your wealth upon him. Do not be like the one who withholds from his father wealth that the father himself was the source and cause of. For the Prophet (PBUH) said: “You and your wealth belong to your father.” (Reported by Ibn Mājah)
How could it be otherwise, when he spent upon you in your childhood and strove for your sake throughout his life? Now you have grown, learned, and worked — so what place does your father hold with you?
Have you shared his worries? Have you hastened to honor him? For indeed, he is a gift from Allah for your benefit and an open gate to Paradise. The Prophet (PBUH) said: “The father is the middle gate of Paradise.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Either you open that gate through dutifulness and become among the successful, or you close it through disobedience and become among those distanced from mercy. So fulfill his rights, appreciate his efforts, comfort his loneliness, and lower your voice in his presence. It has been said: “Do not call him by his name, do not walk ahead of him, and do not sit before he sits.” (Adab al-Mufrad)
So honor your fathers, show them your love and appreciation, and act upon the words of your Lord: “O you who believe, obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you.”(Qurʾān 4:59).
