What is the meaning of the hadiths: "May Allah have mercy upon parents who helped their child to be dutiful to them" and "Help your children to be dutiful to you," and do they indicate helping children to be dutiful to their parents?
The wording of the hadith, "May Allah have mercy on parents who help their child to be dutiful to them," was narrated by Al-Dailami from Ali, and by Ibn Hibban from Ali and Ibn Umar, with a weak chain of narration. Its meaning is that a parent should treat their child well, not burden them beyond their capacity, overlook their slips, and not fall short in fulfilling their rights, so as not to push them towards undutifulness. Al-Ghazali interpreted it to mean that a parent should not cause their child to be undutiful through their own bad actions. Al-Munawi stated that it refers to the parent fulfilling the rights of their child, for just as the parent has rights, so too does the child. A harsh parent may push their child towards undutifulness. Al-Abdari said that accompanying family and children involves treating them gently, with good character, teaching them the Book and the Sunnah, and encouraging them to perform acts of obedience, citing the verse: "O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones," and the aforementioned hadith.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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