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O Muslims, one day I met a man, greeted him, and asked about his well-being and that of his children.

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He sighed deeply, and the weight of intense sorrow and grief was visible upon him.

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Then he said, "Children grow up, and their burdens grow with them."

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He walked away sorrowful, as if the earth, for all its vastness, had become too narrow for him.

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What affection and what burdens does this father carry for his child!

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I remembered then the words of Ya'qub, peace be upon him, when he lost Yusuf.

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He turned away from them and said, "Alas for Yusuf!"

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His eyes turned white with grief, and he was filled with suppressed sorrow.

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I said to myself:

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If every father, whether alive or dead, were to write a letter to his child,

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what would he say?

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It is a letter, but not like any other.

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It is a letter from the middle gate of Paradise.

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O Paradise of the Most Merciful, you are not cheap.

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Rather, you are precious to the lazy.

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Here is one of your gates.

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Do not close it, lest you return with loss.

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How can you close it and still claim to have wisdom?

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Would you close the middle gate of the Gardens of Paradise?

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Yes, it is he, so lend me your ear.

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And do not be heedless or negligent.

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The father is the middle gate of Paradise.

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In his pleasure lies the pleasure of the Most Merciful.

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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"The pleasure of the Lord lies in the pleasure of the father."

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"And the anger of the Lord lies in the anger of the father."

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A letter from your father.

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Yes, it is the father.

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A word with few letters,

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yet immense in its giving and its sentiment.

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The father cannot be done justice by expressions,

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nor elevated by words,

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nor repaid by poems,

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no matter how much praise and commendation they reach.

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The father is the support when people turn against you.

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He is the helper when days treat you harshly.

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His presence and his life are life itself.

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His sternness and his guidance are your salvation.

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The father is the nurturer and the guide without fail.

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He is the generous provider for you without stinginess or hesitation.

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He takes from himself to give to you.

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He sacrifices from his own body to ransom you.

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And if he does not give you what you wish for,

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he has already bestowed upon you everything he found and strove for.

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It is a letter whose ink is not ink,

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but rather the tears of the eyes.

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The tears of the eyes.

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The tears of the eyes.

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It is a letter from me to you, my son.

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A letter from your father, which I have written and inscribed based on the life you spent with me.

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Yes, my son, it is a letter from me to you.

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So lend it your ear and bring your heart to it.

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Perhaps it may find a place to land in your heart.

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My son, I am calling you, so listen to me.

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I am imploring you, so do not turn me away.

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I was among the happiest of people when the news of your mother’s pregnancy with you reached me.

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I exerted my utmost effort with your mother so that no harm would befall you.

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My son, you would not need treatment or a hospital but that I would rush in alarm,

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even from my deepest sleep.

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I counted the days and nights and waited,

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wondering when you would emerge into the world so that my eyes might be gladdened by you.

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And when you were born, it was the happiest moment of my life.

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I look at you as if I am looking at myself.

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And how could it be otherwise, when you are a piece of me?

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You grow, and my hope grows with you.

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It is true, my son, that your mother is the one who feeds you,

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but I am the one who strives and toils during the day,

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to provide this food for you and your mother.

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It is true, my son, that your mother is the one who used to change your clothes,

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but who paid the price for those clothes, my son?

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It was I, from my toil and my fatigue.

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My son, you used to sleep in your mother’s embrace, content and at peace.

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But who, I wonder, provided you with this home and everything in it?

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And who provided you with the security so that you could sleep in peace?

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My son, if I am stern with you, do not blame me,

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for I want you to be a man of religion and character,

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so that my Lord may be pleased with me because of you,

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and you may raise my head high in this world, my son.

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My son, do not blame me for striking you,

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for your mistake is great in my eyes,

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and I want you to be righteous and a reformer after I am gone.

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So do not blame me for striking you, my son.

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My son, I do not wish for anyone to be better than me except you.

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Yes, except you.

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In fact, it is my wish that you become better than me.

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My son, if Paradise is under the feet of your mother,

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then I am the middle gate of Paradise.

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Have you not heard the words of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the authentic hadith?

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"The father is the middle gate of Paradise."

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So either lose that gate or preserve it.

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My son, have you not heard the words of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the hasan hadith?

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"Three supplications are answered, there is no doubt about them:

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the supplication of the father, the supplication of the traveler, and the supplication of the oppressed."

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My son, you grow and grow,

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and the hopes in my eyes grow that I may see you a righteous man, beneficial to your religion and your Ummah.

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My son, my bones have become brittle and my hair has turned gray.

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And all I wish for is that you be dutiful to me.

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My son, I grew weary in raising you so that you would be a man,

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so do not abandon me when you become a man.

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My son, when you were young, I never ceased caring for you,

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and guiding you to everything you desired of the good of this world and the Hereafter.

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So do not fall short in caring for me in my old age, my son.

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You were small and unable to protect yourself, so you sought refuge in me.

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Now, I want you to be by my side.

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You had no wealth, have you forgotten?

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Have you forgotten the wealth you took from me?

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And you used to use tricks to take it.

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My son,

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if I take something from you,

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or you give me something of your wealth, do not remind me of it as a favor.

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Do not hold it over me, my son.

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Have you not heard the words of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:

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"You and your wealth belong to your father."

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Do you not know, my son,

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that it is not permissible for anyone to give a gift

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and then take it back, except for the father,

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except for the father regarding what he gives his child?

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As that has come in the hadith of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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and the hadith is authentic.

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My son,

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everything I gather and everything I obtain from this world

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will one day be an inheritance for you.

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So do not be stingy with me regarding my own wealth, my son.

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Do not be stingy with me regarding my wealth, my son.

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My son,

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if I die, then perform my ghusl well,

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and hasten my burial if you are near me.

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And if you are far from me, then supplicate for me often.

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My son,

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if my burden weighs heavily upon you, remember those years

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when I used to play with you and carry you on my back.

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My son,

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if the dust bothers you as you shovel the earth over me in my grave,

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remember how many times I wiped the dust off you with my own hands.

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My son,

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you were small and helpless, needing my care, my sacrifice, and my effort.

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Now I am in my grave, unable to earn good deeds,

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so do not deprive me of them, for you are my hope.

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Have you not heard the words of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the authentic hadith:

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"When the son of Adam dies, his deeds are cut off except for three:

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an ongoing charity, or knowledge from which benefit is derived,

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or a righteous child who supplicates for him."

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So be that righteous child, my son.

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My son,

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if I forced you to memorize the Book of Allah,

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know that I wanted the good for you,

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just as I wanted it for myself.

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Have you not heard the words of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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in the hasan hadith:

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"The parents will be clothed with two garments that the world cannot equal."

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They will say, "For what were we clothed with this?"

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It will be said, "Because your child took hold of the Qur'an."

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So do not deprive me of that virtue, my son.

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And do not blame me for forcing you to memorize the Book of Allah,

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for I only wanted the good for you in this world and the Hereafter.

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O you who are being addressed,

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if someone were to honor you one day,

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you would praise his good deed and his kindness.

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So where is the recompense and loyalty to your father?

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How strange are our hearts!

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How can we sleep soundly,

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and laugh with our mouths,

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and associate with whom we wish,

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whenever we wish,

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and maintain ties with them,

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and draw near to them,

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and show affection to them,

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with gifts,

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and draw near to them,

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with the most beautiful words and gifts,

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while we are undutiful to our closest kin,

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negligent of their rights,

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wasting them,

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and turning away from the commands of our Lord?

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Allah has decreed

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that Paradise is forbidden to the undutiful child.

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Allah has decreed

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that He will not look at the undutiful child on the Day of Resurrection,

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nor will He accept from him any obligatory or supererogatory deed.

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O you who draw near to your friends,

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while you are like stone to your father,

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or even harder,

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for there are stones from which rivers gush forth.

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“Then, even after that, your hearts were hardened and became as rocks, or worse than rocks, for hardness. For indeed there are rocks from out which rivers gush, and indeed there are rocks which split asunder so that water floweth from them. And indeed there are rocks which fall down for the fear of Allah. Allah is not unaware of what ye do.” (2:74)

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Do you claim wisdom while you are like stone to your father?

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O you who have forgotten your father,

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O you whom the world has distracted from your father,

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fear Allah,

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fear Allah,

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fear Allah regarding your father.

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Fear the Fire,

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fear the Fire,

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fear the Fire,

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for its depth is far,

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and its heat is intense.

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Fear the Fire.

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Fear Allah regarding your father,

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whether he is alive or dead,

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for the recompense is of the same nature as the deed.

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Wake up, my son.

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For the years will pass.

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Then you will become an elderly father.

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And you will write letters to your own child,

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with tears,

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just as I have written to you.

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We are all heading toward the Judge of the Day of Judgment.

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And before Allah, all adversaries shall meet.

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And before Allah, all adversaries shall meet.

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Obey your Lord as He has commanded,

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and fill your heart with caution.

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And obey your father, for he

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raised you during the days of your youth.

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Be humble before him and seek his pleasure,

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for disobeying him is a path toward the grave.

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My son,

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the last thing I wish to say to you is this:

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A father is not required

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to treat you exactly as you would like,

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but Allah has commanded you to treat him

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in the way that he loves.

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O Allah, grant us the ability to be dutiful to our parents.

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O Allah, grant us the ability to be dutiful to our parents,

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both the living and the dead.

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O Allah, grant us the ability to be dutiful to our parents,

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both the living and the dead.