Warning and Good News
The Apostle of Allah (PBUH) said, “When a young person treats an elderly person with respect and honour, Allah will put somebody who will treat him with respect and honour under his order when he gets older.” (Tirmidhi, Birr: 75)
The Apostle of Allah (PBUH), who orders obedience and kindness towards parents and close relatives in many of his hadiths, orders people to treat all elderly people with respect and honour in this hadith. Such a kindness of a young person will not only be rewarded in the hereafter but its benefit will also be seen in this world. In fact, the kindness of a young person towards his elders and the same kindness that will be shown towards him when he gets old has become a proverb.
“Treating with respect and honour” does not mean only materially. Helping the old in their works, having sweet talk with them along with a smiling face and giving your seat up in buses are also a kind of kindness. The following event in the era of bliss is a good example of it:
An old man who wanted to talk to the Apostle of Allah (PBUH) came but the people who were there hesitated to give up a seat for him. Upon this, the Apostle of Allah (PBUH) said the following, “Those who do not show respect to the elderly and compassion to the young are not of us.” (Tirmidhi, Birr: 15)
As it seen here, giving up seats for elderly people is kind of obedience and kindness. The phrase “not of us” in the hadith is a quivering warning for every young person. All believers are dying for being an ummah worthy of the Prophet (PBUH) and they work hard for this aim. No young person wants to be in the group who are “excluded from his group”. So, we should be included in his ummah, which he named as “we” by showing kindness to elderly people and compassion to the young.
Receiving the blessing of the elderly is treasure both in this world and in the hereafter. We need to help and please them on all occasions because, the power and strength in youth is a benefaction given by Allah. The elderly were also young once. Young people will get old one day. It is wrong for a young person not to know the benefaction that he has, without thinking of his future by not showing kindness to the elderly or upsetting them.
Amr bin Humq (RA) narrates the event that he experienced as follows:
“I gave a glass of milk to the Apostle of Allah (PBUH). He drank it and then he prayed for me by saying: “O my Allah! Let the benefaction of youth of him be permanent.”
In fact, Hz. Amr lived nearly 80 years. His youthfulness continued during this time. No white hair was seen on his body. (Abu Nuaym; Ibn Asakir)
“If it were not for the youth fearing Allah, innocent animals and helpless elderly people among you, calamities would flood onto you.” (Kanzul Ummal, 9:167; Kashful Khafa) One of the groups of the three that keep calamities away in the hadith given above is “the elderly”. In this regard, they are our benefactors with what they did in their youth and they prevent possible calamities that may come to us by summoning the compassion of Allah when they get old.
It is necessary to show great respect and kindness to elders without fail since they prevent calamities both in this world and hereafter and cause us to become happy.
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