History is witness to the fact that Allah Almighty granted such a high status to those who strived to obey their parents that one of them became the foremost among the tābiꜤīn, another became the leader of the noble saints رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ, others became revivers (mujaddids) of their time, whilst some received glad tidings of gaining Allah’s pleasure. All those who come till the Day of Judgement will have love for these blessed individuals.

Let us listen to two accounts of our pious predecessors رَحِمَهُمُ الـلّٰـهُ who strived to obey their parents.

(1) Serving his mother, and the rank of sainthood

Sayyidunā Bāyazīd al-Bisṭāmī رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه states:

On a particularly cold night in the winter, my mother asked me for some water, but when I filled a cup and returned to her, she had fallen asleep. I did not think it was appropriate to wake her up. I waited close to her with the glass in my hand so that I could give her the water when she awoke. I remained waiting for some time. Some water from the cup fell onto my finger and turned into ice.

When my mother finally woke up, I presented the cup to her. When my finger that became stuck to the cup separated from it, this caused my skin to peel off, and blood began to flow. My mother saw this and asked, “What is this?” So, I told her what had happened. Upon this, she raised her hands and supplicated, “O Allah Almighty! I am pleased with him, so remain pleased with him too.”^[1]

(2) The robbers repented