Saturday, March 12, 2011

Of The Mind And Duty To Parents

I wonder if my mind would ever rest.  It travels everywhere, to every corner of memories, to every nook of the cortex, to every neuron of my sensory.

It takes me to the past, to the present, to the future, to the present, to the past.

It goes over the good, and the bad.  It takes me to the time when I was eight, and my sister was four and I would not take her on the bike.  Why not?  Why didn't I.  It takes me to the time when my son was three, and he was devouring juicy watermelon at a Japanese restaurant, and I noticed the disappointment on his face when it was gone too quick.  Why didn't I order more.  Why didn't I?

I feel a need to make it up to the past.

I googled for a meaning of the verses of the Qur'an, to study and to share and the following verses touched me.  May I always be reminded to be kind to my parents.

The verses are 17:23-25 of Al-Isra', The Night Journey, the 17th surah that has 111 verses.  According to A'ishah, the Prophet's wife, the Prophet, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, used to recite this surah every night in his prayer (Tirmidzi, Nasa'i, Hambali).

17:23
And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him.  And that you be dutiful to your parents.  If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, never say "ugh" to them or scold them, but address them in terms of honour.

17:24
And lower for them the wing of humility, out of tenderness, and say: "My Lord!  Bestow on them Your grace and mercy as they cherished and reared me when I was young".

17:25
Your Lord is fully aware of what is in your hearts.  If you are righteous, for, behold, He is much forgiving to those who turn unto Him again and again.


26 comments:

  1. What a coincidence I read those verses this morning..
    If you have a garden..
    will you let the toxin waste to be thrown in it.
    if you treat your mind as a garden..
    you will jealously guard it from those toxic wastes; worries, negative thoughts, negative events etcetera...Non?!
    Just a thought..

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  2. What great philosophy and isn´t all life sacred, each on it´s own path and in it´s own cycle of life.

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  3. Hello John, are you referring to each of us has our own mind and our own path that intertwined during our cycle of life?

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  4. My mind travels too, everyday to my parents, to my late grandparents, my late son - i feel better now and more at peace when i start to recite AlFatihah for them everyday (try my best anyway).

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  5. Dear i amsterdam, thank you for sharing. It is our minds that are getting to know each other. I have lost a child too, a daughter aged two day old. Her name is Faizah.

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  6. These are beautiful words. Thank you. Our God does not want us to regret in the past, but to learn from the past and move forward in Him. Blessings, Aishah.

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  7. Memories,
    things that makes my heart yearning for the past.

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  8. Aslmkm.
    Kak G always thrive on this wisdom:
    No pining or whining would make the worst past any better. But the past, at its worst could be the best lesson to ensure a better present & future.
    Just have a great heart, count ur blessings & U would feel much better. Insya Allah.

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  9. Thank you Clint for your kind visit and words.

    kayteeze, thank you and memories do make us yearn for the past.

    Waalaikumussalam Kak G, and what wisdom, thank you. No wonder I always look forward to your visit.

    My mind does take me everywhere. But I do understand that regret is a sign of ungratefulness to Allah and will avoid it. InsyaaAllah

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  10. Assalamualaikum... Aishah.

    Thanks for the visit. ahaa, my mind travels too. Think every seconds, and every minutes. Anyway, this is very good;your blog.

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  11. Aunty Aishah,
    Even the mind of a cat travels a lot. She doesn't just daydream.... Anyway, my mind right now, is in Japan. Wither my feline brethren.....? purrr....meow!

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  12. assalamualaikum, sykran jazilan for visiting my blog, and yes...travelling does reminisce my memories too. but the one really worry me most, when the mind travel unguidedly...

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  13. This is a good one.

    Pity that it has been a while since I listened to Al Quran and read the translation in my iPhone. It was one of the reasons why I bought. Now, other craps come in between.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Hi Aishah,

    There are so many hidden things on our journey which are personal to us, some we eventually realize, others we don´t. And yes we do all have our own minds and our own paths, however the destination is the same and that never changes.

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  15. Assalamualaikum. What a refreshing reminder. I have been stuck in between busy schedules (and chasing the rainbows) and that sometimes cause some guilty conscience (for being away from my parent for quite sometimes).

    have a nice day.

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  16. Watery eyes about your son with his drink. My thoughts wander too. Diversion is needed sometimes.

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  17. Assalamualaikum Aishah,

    thank you for this reminder, reminding us to read the Al-Quran and learn from it.

    sometimes I'm guilty of "neglecting" my mum, not calling her every few days, and also for not sending prayers after every solat to her and to my arwah father.

    anyway, on d same topic, would like to share this takzirah that I received thru email and posted in my blog :

    http://cheqna-in-school.blogspot.com/2010/03/duty-to-our-parentsdoa-buat-kedua-ibu.html

    JazakAllah.

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  18. I miss my parents. Love them so much

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  19. I very much miss my father!

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  20. Honour you Father and Mother is the first commandment with a promise attached, " that it may go well with you in the land."
    I loved my parents but unfortunately they have already gone home to be with the lord, unfortunate that is for me, I miss them.
    When my mind goes off at a tangent I turn my thoughts to Jesus and his amazing peace floods over me, even when I wake up from a nightmare.
    Love Geoff.

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  21. Waalaikumussalam Afida Anuar, thank you for the return visit and your kind compliment.

    Little kitty-in-Sydney, yes, our thoughts and prayers are in Japan right now.

    Waalaikumsalam Nahmy, reminisce can be a kind of pondering and a way to count our blessings.

    Faisal Admar!;) how true. Before I got my iphone, my son showed me how I could have the Qur'an on it, and when I got it, that was the first app he installed for me. Your comment refreshed my memory about it and insyaaAllah will start using it again. Thank you.

    Hello John, thank you for the elaboration on your comment.

    Waalaikumsalam Dr Sam, I pray that my posts will one way or other, small way or big, be a reminder to me, and also to others.

    Fusion Tea, we missed you too.

    Waalaikumsalam Cheqna, thank you and insyaaAllah I will visit your blog and the particular tazkirah.

    Theanne and Baron, and Geoff Maritz, hello, and thank you. I missed my loved ones that had returned to God too.

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  22. Hi Aishah! Thank you for this lovely post! It reminds to love and honor my parents even more, for they are God's gift to me. I realized even more how valuable they are to me, the minute I became a mother. Indeed, we will do all that we can for our children.

    I know I told you this already. That I learn LOT, each and everytime I come visit your blog. And because of that, I want to let you know that I have included you as one of the recipients of the ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD!

    Here's the link:

    http://mymommyconfessions.blogspot.com/2011/03/another-lovely-blog-award.html

    It's just my way of showing you and letting you know that you and your blog are appreciated.

    More power to you!

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  23. My colleague told me that it is compulsory for me to give money to my parents on a monthly basis..I said it is not. Being a grateful daughter is not through the amount of money we give them I said but more into how much we think about them and the things that they have done for us. What is giving them RM??? if you never include them in your doa even once a day?
    I think of my mum and dad every single second I breathe and it hurts me that I still can't be around as much as I want to be. And that is what keeps them close to my heart, the wanting to do better for them and that is much more than giving them a massive amount of cash and forgetting them later on..

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  24. Hello Mama Mia, thank you and I am honored. I hope to visit you soon to accept my award;)

    Rosfida Abu Sufi, I really like your name;), my personal view as far as I understand it, we must be real careful not to make compulsory what is not. I have always remember that I can't even say "uh" to my parents, but reading the verses again, the command to lower my wing of humility gave me a deeper understanding, insyaaAllah. As for money, I see a lot of parents who are better off than the children, as a matter of fact, I see a lot of children still require the support of parents even after they have got out to work.

    Bob West, thank you, hopefully I'll get the chance to check out your blog soon.

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  25. I was hoping someone would ask who Bezalel was. Only the Creator knows, but He has given a glimpse of what is possible for those who seek wisdom and truth.
    The Lord Bless you, Bob West

    Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. “I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship Exodus 31:1-3

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