2. Ibn Mahbub has narrated from Khalid ibn Naff al-Bajali from Muhammad ibn Marwan who has said the following: “I heard Abu ‘Abdillah saying, ‘Once a man came to the Holy Prophet and said, “O Messenger of Allah, give me a good advice.” The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Do not consider anything as partner of Allah even if you are tortured with fire except when your heart is confident with belief. You must obey your parents and be good to them whether living or dead. If they order you to leave your property and family you must do so; it is of belief.’”

3. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Sayf from Abu ‘Abdillah who has said the following: “On the Day of Judgment something will suddenly come behind the believer, rush him forward and admit him in paradise. It will be said, ‘This is kindness.’”

4. Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad from al- Washsha’ from Mansur ibn Hazim from Abu ‘Abdillah who has said the following: “I asked Abu ‘Abdillah ‘Which deed is the best?’ The Imam said, ‘Prayer in its proper time, kindness to parents and hard work to strive for the cause of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy.’”

5. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa ibn ‘Ubayd from Yunus ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman from Durust ibn abu Mansur from abu al-Hassan Musa who has said the following: “Once, a man asked the Messenger of Allah, ‘What is the right of the father on the son?’ The messenger of Allah said, ‘The son must not address his father by his name (first name), must not walk in front of him, must not take a seat before him, and must not cause people to abuse him.’”

6. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from his father from ‘Abd Allah ibn Bahr from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muskan from those whom he has mentioned from Abu ‘Abdillah who has said the following: “Once the Imam spoke to ‘Abd al- Wahid al-Ansari, while I was present, about kindness to parents mentioned in the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘Be kind to parents.’ We thought it was the verse in Chapter Seventeen that says, ‘. . . the Lord has ordained that you must not worship anyone other than Him and that you must “Be kind to your parents. . . .’ (17:23) Later I asked the Imam and he said, ‘It was verse 14-15 of Chapter 31, that says, “(Concerning his parents), We advised the man, (to be good to parents). . . . (31:14) If they try to force you to consider things equal to Me, which you cannot justify to be equal to Me, do not obey them.” (31:15) The Imam then said, ‘This shows greater significance of maintaining good relations with them in all cases.’ I asked about: ‘If they try to force you to consider things equal to Me, which you cannot justify to be equal to Me, do not obey them.’ (31:15) The Imam said, ‘It, in fact, is a command to establish good relations with parents even if they struggle to make him consider things equal to Allah. It only shows the greatness of the rights of parents.’” (Note: al-Majlisi in Mir’at al-‘Uqul has expressed concern about the authenticity of this Hadith. For details one may refer to this work.)

7. It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from Muhammad ibn Ali from al-Hakam ibn Miskin from Muhammad ibn Marwan who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah has said, ‘Nothing prevents any of you from doing kindness to your parents, who are living or dead, in the form of prayer for them, giving charity on their behalf, performing Hajj and fasting on their behalf. These are things that one can do for them. He will also receive similar credit, thus, Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, will grant him a great deal of good rewards for his kindness to his parents.’”

8. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Mu’ammar ibn Khallad who has said the following: “I asked abu al-Hassan al-Rida ‘Can I pray for my parents who do not know the truth?’ The Imam said, ‘Pray for them and give charity on their behalf. If they are living and do not know the truth, be kind to them; the Messenger of Allah has said, “Allah has sent me with (message of) kindness and not to punish.’”

9. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Hisham ibn Salim from abu ‘Abd Allah who has said the following: “Once a man came to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, to whom should I be kind?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Be kind to your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then whom?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then whom?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then whom?’ The Messenger of Allah said, “Be kind to your father.”

10. Abu Ali al-Ash’ari has narrated from Muhammad ibn Salim from Ahmad ibn al- Nadr from ‘Amr ibn Shamir from Jabir from Abu ‘Abdillah who has said the following: “Once a man came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘I am interested in Jihad (joining the army) O Messenger of Allah. I am active and light.’ The Imam said, ‘The Holy Prophet said, “Do Jihad (join the army) in the way of Allah, if you will be killed you will be living with Allah and will receive sustenance. If you die you will receive your reward from Allah, and if you return you will return free from sins as in the day you were born.” The man then said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, my parents are old and they think my presence is a comfort for them and they do not like my going out.’ The Messenger of Allah then said, ‘Stay with your parents, I swear by the One in whose hand is my soul, that your parents’ receiving comfort from your presence with them for one day and night is more virtuous than Jihad for one year.’”

11. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from Ali ibn al-Hakam from Mu’awiyah ibn Wahab from Zakariya ibn Ibrahim who has said the following: “I was a Christian, then I became a Muslim. I went for Hajj, where I met Abu ‘Abdillah and I said to him, ‘I was a Christian and I have become a Muslim.’ The Imam asked, ‘What have you seen in Islam?’ I said, ‘They are the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, “. . . before, you did not even know what a Book or belief was, but We have made the Quran as a light by which We guide whichever of Our servants We want.’” (42:52) The Imam said, ‘Allah has certainly granted you guidance.’ The Imam then said three times: ‘O Allah, guide him. Son, ask whatever you want to ask.’ I then said, ‘My parents and my family are Christians and my mother is blind. I live with them. Can I eat from their utensils with them?’ The Imam asked, ‘Do they eat pork?’ I said, ‘No, they do not even touch it.’ The Imam said, ‘There is no offense in your eating with them. Take good care of your mother and be kind to her. When she will die do not leave her to others. You must do everything that she will need (for her funeral). Do not tell anyone of your meeting with me until you will meet me at Mina, if Allah would so will.’ I (the narrator) met him at Mina and people were around him as if he were the teacher of children. He asks a question then the other asks a question and so on. I returned to Kufa and I would act more kindly toward my mother. I would feed my mother, wash her clothes, her head and would serve her in other ways.’ She said, ‘My son, you did not do all this for me when you followed my religion. What is all that I see from you after you left and accepted the religion of submission (Islam)?’ I said, ‘A man from the descendents of our prophet has commanded me to do all this.’ She then asked, ‘Is this man a prophet?’ I said, ‘No, but he is a descendent of a prophet.’ She said, ‘My son, he is a prophet; these are of the teachings of the prophets.’ I said, ‘Mother, there will be no other prophet after our prophet. He is a descendent of our prophet.’ She then said, ‘Your religion is the best religion. Explain it to me.’ I then explained to her and she accepted Islam. I taught her more. She prayed, Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib and ‘Isha’ prayers. Thereafter something happened to her at night and she said, ‘Son, explain and repeat to me what you told me about Islam and I repeated it to her. She affirmed them and then she died. In the morning the Muslims were the ones who helped with her funeral and washed her. I was the one who prayed on her body and climbed down in her grave (to place her body to rest).”’

12. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Ali ibn al-Hakam a number of our people from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from Isma’il ibn Mehran all from Sayf ibn ‘ Amirah from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muskan from ‘Ammar ibn Hayyan who has said the following: “Once I explained to Abu ‘Abdillah how kind my son Isma’il was to me. The Imam said, ‘I loved him before and this has increased my love for him. Once, the sister of the Messenger of Allah (through breast-feeding) visited him. When he saw her he became very happy to see her, prepared a seat for her, began to talk to her and smiled at her. She left and her brother came. The Holy Prophet did not behave toward him as he did to her. He was asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you behaved toward his sister differently from the way you behaved toward him, and he is a man.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘It was because she was more kind to her parents than he was.’”

13. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Ali ibn al-Hakam from Sayf ibn ‘Amirah from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muskan from Ibrahim ibn Shu’ayb who has said the following: “Once I said to Abu ‘Abdillah ‘My father has become very old and weak. We pick him up and help him for the restrooms.’ The Imam said, ‘If you can, you should do all of this for him and feed him with your own hand; it is paradise for you tomorrow. ’”

14. It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from Ali ibn al-Hakam from Sayf ibn ‘Amirah from abu al-Sabbah from Jabir who has said the following: “I heard a man saying to Abu ‘Abdillah ‘My parents are against us (our belief).’ The Imam said, ‘Be kind to them just as Muslims who follow us are kind (to their parents).”’

15. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father and Muhammad ibn Yahya from Ahmad ibn Muhammad all from ibn Mahbub from Malik ibn ‘Atiyyah from ‘Anbasah ibn Mus’ab from abu Ja’far who has said the following: ‘‘There are three things in which Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has not given any concession: safely returning of the trust to appropriate people, regardless of their being good or evil people, keeping the promise for good or evil people, and being kind to parents whether of good or of evil manners.”

16. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from al-Nawfali from al-Sakuni from Abu ‘Abdillah who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah has said, ‘It is of tradition and virtue to adopt al-Kunyah (like abu’ meaning father of or ‘Ibn’) of the name of one’s father.’”

17. Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad and Ali ibn Muhammad from Salih ibn abu Hammad all from al-Washsha’ from Ahmad ibn ‘Ai’z from abu Khadijah Salim ibn Mukram from Mu’alla ibn Khanis from abu ‘Abd Allah Who has said the following: “Once a man came to the Holy Prophet and asked about kindness to parents. The Holy Prophet said, ‘Be kind to your mother, be kind to your mother, be kind to your mother, be kind to your father, be kind to your father, and be kind to your father. He began with mother before the father.’”

18. Al-Washsha’ has narrated from Ahmad ibn ‘Ai’z from abu Khadijah from Abu ‘Abdillah who has said the following: “Once a man came to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘I had a daughter and I brought her up until she became an adult. I then dressed her up in beautiful clothes, took her to the well and threw her therein to her death and the last thing I heard from her was; O father! What is the expiation for it?’ The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘Do you have a living mother?’ He said, ‘No, I do not.’ The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘Do you have a living maternal aunt?’ He said, ‘Yes, I do.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Be kind to her; she is like a mother, this will serve as expiation for what you have done.’ Abu Khadijah has said, ‘I asked Abu ‘Abdillah ‘When was this?’ The Imam said, ‘It was in the time of Jahiliyah (age of darkness). They would kill the girls for fear of being taken captive and giving birth to other people.’”

19. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Isma’il ibn Bazi’ from Hannan ibn Sadir from his father who has said the following: “I asked abu Ja’far ‘Can a son pay back (for the favors of) a father?’ The Imam said, ‘There is no payment for him except two things: if the father is a slave and the son buys him and sets him free, or the father is in debt and the son pays it off.’”

20. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Yunus ibn ‘Abd al- Rahman from ‘ Amr ibn Shamir from Jabir who has said the following: “Once a man came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘I am a young and active man and love Jihad (joining the army), but my mother does not like it.’ The Holy Prophet said, ‘Go back and stay with your mother. I swear by the One Who has sent me with the truth as a prophet that her feeling comfort because of your presence for one night is better for your Jihad in the way of Allah for one year.”

21. Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad from al- Hassan ibn Ali from ‘Abd Allah ibn Sinan from Muhammad ibn Muslim from abu Ja’far who has said the following: “A servant (of Allah) may have been kind to his parents during their lifetime but when they die he does not pay their debts, and does not ask forgiveness for them. Allah writes him as unkind (person) to parents. One may have been unkind to parents during their lifetime but after their death, when he pays off their debts and asks forgiveness for them, Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, writes him down to be among the people who are kind to their parents.”