Are children sinful for talking about their father's harshness in his absence and sometimes wishing for his death? What is the ruling on their lying to him? And what are the means that help them to love him despite his severity?

One must be kind to one's father, regardless of his treatment, and forgive his mistakes, especially as he ages, for this brings great reward. A father's harshness may stem from his love and desire to raise his children properly, and this error does not justify hating him or wishing him dead, as his love and effort in raising them are greater. It must be remembered that the father is the cause of the children's existence, and that he stayed up late and toiled in raising them. Speaking ill of one's father is forbidden backbiting and a grave sin, for Allah has forbidden backbiting in His Book and the Sunnah (definition) of His Prophet, and it is even greater when it concerns one's father.