Chapter 7: Serving Parents is Greater Than Jihad
Hadith of the Prophet Linking Serving Parents to Jihad:
It was related from Amr ibn al-A’as that a man came to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and asked for his permission to go to Jihad. The Prophet asked: are your parents alive? He replied: Yes. The Prophet ﷺ then said: Then with them both is your Jihad. (Bukhari)
A similar Hadith was narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud who said: I asked the Messenger of Allah: Which action is most beloved to Allah? The Prophet ﷺ replied: Prayer upon its time. So I said: Then which? He (the Prophet) said: Honouring the parents. So I said: Then which? The Prophet replied: Jihad in the way of Allah. (Bukhari, Muslim, An-Nasa’i)
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-A’as once narrated: A man came to the Prophet of Allah and said: I pledge allegiance to you for Hijrah and Jihad, seeking reward for Allah.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: Do you have any of your parents alive? The man replied: Yes, rather both of them.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ asked: Then, do you seek the reward from Allah? The man replied: Yes.
The Prophet said: Then return to your parents, your company with them is better. (Muslim)
In another narration, Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-A’as said: A man came to the Prophet of Allah and asked his permission to go to Jihad.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said to him: Are your parents alive? The man replied: Yes.
The Prophet then said: Then, with them both is your Jihad. (Bukhari, Muslim)
It was also narrated from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-A’as: A man came to the Messenger of Allah and said: I have come to pledge allegiance to you upon the Hijrah and I have left my parents weeping.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: Return to them both and make them laugh, just as you made them weep. (Abu Dawud)
A companion of the Prophet, Jahima approached the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah, I want to take part in a military expedition, and I seek your counsel.
The Prophet replied: Do you have a mother? Jahima replied: Yes.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ then said: Stay with her, for Paradise is beneath her feet. (An-Nasa’i)