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Dua For Parents

My Lord! Be merciful to them as they raised me when I was young. 17:24

By Shaista Khurshid, Calgary Alberta

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We all want Allah subhanahuwata’ la to accept our prayers. We ask Allah because we are weak and He is powerful. We are needy, and He is generous.

There are many prayers or duas stated in the Quran. Most of the duas are of the prophets, but some are from normal people. Some are instructions to appropriately ask what is needed. One of them is a child’s dua for his parents. Stated in Surah Isra 17:24 - a profound set of words - it not only asks for mercy for parents but does the opposite in the same words. This sets the precedent that Allah knows all and is watching us and over us.

وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِى صَغِيرًۭا

And be humble with them out of mercy, and pray, “My Lord! Be merciful to them as they raised me when I was young.” 17:24 Translation —Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

The words of the dua are very humbling and thought provoking. It talks about the child asking Allah to be merciful to his or her parents, as they have raised him or her from when he or she was young.

The gross assumption would be that the parents were empathetic and kind and did whatever was in their means to raise that kid. But the interesting word used here is “as they” or “Kama”(كَمَا) implying the possibility of the opposite.

This is saying that even if this child is humbling themselves and asking Allah to be merciful to his or her parents, it is not a get out of free jail pass for the parents. The word ‘Kama’( كَمَا) or ‘as they’ ) is the clause suggests that the child is asking his or her parents to be treated same as they have treated the child when he or she was weak and vulnerable, and wouldn't have survived without the parents’ empathetic upbringings. So, if the parents were unkind and selfish, they will be treated the same - this time, by Allah.

Allah is as powerful as He is merciful; we are vulnerable and weak in front of Him. So as this dua suggests, treat your children as you want to be treated by Allah - meaning with compassion and mercy.

Photo by Beto Galetto on Unsplash

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