Helping Family Members & Their Rights 43

Helping

Family Members
&
Their Rights

Respect of parents is a primary and sacred obligation. If you fail to respect your
parents, you have disobeyed God. And those who treat their parents badly will
sooner or later fall into ill-treatment of others.
From the very moment of conception the child, as it grows and develops, is a care
and responsibility for its parents. It is impossible to estimate the depth of attachment
and compassion parents feel for their children, nor it is possible to calculate the
troubles and hardships they go through as parents. For this reason, respecting them
is a dept of human gratitude as well as a religious obligation.

Those who can judge the value of their parents rightly and regard them as a means to
obtain the mercy of God, are the most prosperous in both worlds. Those who, by
contrast, regard their parents’ existence as a burden to themselves or who become
wearied of them are unfortunate ones who will inevitably suffer the most severe
hardships in life.
The respectful you are to your parents, the greater the respect and awe you feel
before your creator. Those who do not feel and show respect to their parents, feel no
fear, awe and and respect towards God. Yet, it is a curious thing today that not only
those who are disrespectful to God but also those who claim that they love God, do
not defend themselves from disobedience to their parents.
Children should be respectful and obedient to their parents to the greatest degree
possible, and parents should give as much importance to their children’s moral and
spiritual education as to their physical growth and health, and submit them to the
care of the most honourable teachers and guides. How ignorant and careless are the
parents who neglect the moral and spiritual training of their children, and how
unfortunate are the children who are the victims of such neglect.
Children who are inconsidreable of the rights of their parents and disobedient to
them are brutes equally those parents too are brutes who do not labor to secure the
moral and spiritual welfare of their children. Most brutish and pitiless of all are
those parents who paralyze the moral and spiritual development of their children
after they have found a way to revive themselves spiritually.
Families form the foundation of a society. Where there is reciprocal respect of rights
and obligations within a family, the society is healthy and strong. It is in vain to look
for compassion and respect in the society once these have been lost from the
relationships within the family.
We should always speak to them with honour. Parents make a lot of sacrifices and it
is the duty of their children to be grateful to them.
Sometimes parents punish their children to correct their mistakes. They do this for
the good of the children. You have to obey your parents. Never say “No” to them for
 Helping Family Members & Their Rights 44
something they ask you to do. Help them in every possible way. You may help them
doing household jobs, running errands and keeping the house clean. We should
respect their opinion. As everyone knows we share our lives with parents.
For that reason we got to do many things together. They have taken care of you up
to now. They have been giving many things to us for instance, garments, food,
education, etc. Namely they try to provide everything we need without provision. As
you see they do many things for our future also.
I think it is not difficult to give a glass of water to them, to help mother by setting
the table, washing up in the kitchen, doing shopping, cleaning the garden, etc. If I
speak about brothers and sisters we share many things with them also. We can help
them with their homework we share our feelings, play together. If they are younger
than us we take care of them.

Story 1

Helping in the House

John and Bob were two happy cildren. They had a beautiful home to live in and
loving parents who did everything for them.
But once their mother fell ill and had to stay in bed for two weeks. The children
didn’t know how to cook and their father was too busy. So they got their meals from
a hotel nearby. Even then the children had a tough time doing all the odd jobs about
the house. “How hard mother must be working when she is well!” said John.
“I know,” said Bob. “Why don’t we help a bit, always?”
Wasn’t that a good idea? You could do it too.
We have to do many things to keep a house neat and clean and pretty. Some of these
things are sweeping, dusting, washing of vessels and clothes, looking after plants in
the garden, furnishing and decorating the rooms with flowers or pictures, polishing
brassware, furniture and silver, throwing away rubbish.
There are many other jobs that must be done in the house to keep it clean. Think
about it and tell your teacher some more.
Think of a few simple duties that you can take over in your own home. For example,
putting away your books after you have done your homework and washing your
own socks. Talk to your parents about it and write down here the duties that you
wish to take on.

Story 2

Tickets to the Circus

Ramsey was a boy of ten. He had a small brother. His name was Shakir. He also had
a small sister. Her name was Fatema. The three children loved each other very
much.
 Helping Family Members & Their Rights 45
One day their uncle came to see them. He said, “Ramsey, I have two tickets to the
circus. Will you come and see the circus with me?”
At first Ramsey was very happy. But then he grew sad. He said, “Thank you very
much, uncle. But I won’t have any fun if Shakir and Fatema don’t come. Please
leave me out. Take Shakir.”
Uncle said to Shakir, “I have two tickets to the circus. Will you come and see the
circus with me?”
At first Shakir was very happy. But then he too grew sad. He said, “Thank you very
much, uncle. But I won’t have any fun if Ramsey and Fatema don’t come. Please
leave me out. Take Fatema.”
Uncle said to Fatema, “I have two tickets to the circus. Will you come and see the
circus with me?”
At first Fatema was very happy. She clapped her hands. But then she stopped. “Only
two tickets?” she said. “So Ramsey and Shakir can’t go.
Then how can I go, uncle? Please leave me out. Take father or mother.”
When father heard about it he smiled. “I know what to do,” he said. “We’ll buy four
more tickets and all of us will go to the circus.”
They all went to the circus and had a lovely time together.

Proverbs

One father is more than a hundred schoolmates.

Parents are patterns.
Like father, like son.
Like mother, like daughter.
He that burns most, shines most.