His Excellency Prof. koutoub Moustafa Sano, Secretary General of the international Fiqh Academy, delivered on Thursday, the 10th of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1444H corresponding to the 29th of June 2023, the blessed Eid al-Adha sermon at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Mosque at the International Islamic University in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

In this sermon, His Excellency gave a focused talk on honoring parents and the principles of dealing with them, starting with a careful scientific analysis of the implications of a beautiful Quranic story that conveyed to us the most wonderful example of surrender and submission to God by Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him,when he said to his only son at the time I see in a dream that I am slaughtering you, in obedience to God, may His Majesty be glorified, as this story was told to us, the most wonderful example of obedience to parents when Prophet Ismail, peace be upon him, said to his father: Do as you are commanded, you will find me, God willing, among the patient.

As he did not argue with his father, nor did he accuse him of dementia or delusion, and His Excellency commented on this story, saying: “O believers, come with us so that we may ponder for a moment on a noble verse from the verses of the wise remembrance in Surat Al-Safat, which is His saying, may He be glorified.” (When he reached the age of puberty, he said, “O my son, I see in a dream that I am slaughtering you, so see what you see.” He said, “Father, do as you wish.” You will find me, God willing, among the patient).

This verse sums up for us one of the most wonderful stories, the most beautiful, and the greatest of them.A story that has two chapters, the first of which is a deep expression of surrender and submission from a servant to his Lord, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, and the Donor and Giver.

As for the second chapter, it is a great talk about obedience, trust, loyalty, respect and appreciation from an obedient, trustworthy and respectful son to a father who was the reason for his existence.. That gentle and kind servant is our Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him.

As for that righteous son, who is used as an example of kindness and kindness to parents, he is the grandfather of our Prophet, our master Ismael, upon him and our Prophet the best prayer and the most complete blessings.

The two chapters of the story are integrated in harmony , because they meet in the fact that each one of them is a human sacrifice of the most precious thing that man possesses in obedience and gratitude. Our master Ismail, peace be upon him, the young man, the only son at that time, was the most precious possession of our master Ibrahim, who at that time had reached ninety years of age, so he decided to comply with the command of his Lord in obedience and submission (O my son, I see in a dream that I slaughter you). As for our master Ismail, peace be upon him, he sacrifices the most precious thing he owns, that is his life, in obedience to his father who said to him with confidence, steadfastness and respect.. (Oh Father. Do as you are commanded, you will find me, God willing, among the patient ones).

What obedience is this..!! What confidence is this!! What respect is that!! No discussion, no hesitation, no apprehension, no objection, no prevarication, no arrogance.. The result was that the Prophet of God, Abraham, received the praise of the thankful and merciful Lord, and deservedly deserved that great and immortal attribute, which is the attribute of God’s friend Whose love has no defect, and God has chosen him, and loved him with complete love (And who is better in religion than he who surrenders his face to God while he is a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham Haneef And God took Abraham as a friend).

And as for our master Ismail, the righteous, obedient and faithful son, the One with might and majesty has rewarded him, making him a prophet, (And mention Ismail in the Book, for he was true to his promise and he was a prophet and he used to order his family to pray and pay zakat, and he was pleasing to his Lord).

After His Excellency presented this touching and expressive story, he added: “A quick look at what we read and hear today of the terrifying news about the dealings of sons and daughters with fathers and mothers in our homes, our societies, and the world around us, and what we are witnessing of horrific, heart-breaking events of the disobedience of sons and daughters, their insolence, arrogance, and stubbornness.. How many of you fathers and mothers complain about the ingratitude of sons and daughters? And they suffer from their denial and delinquency!!

They are indifferent to the news of their fathers and mothers, they do not ask about them, they do not care about them, and they do not care about their conditions. Yes, they met all of that with constant denial and constant arrogance, they could not bear to hear their advice, and they did not care about their directives. And they are not ready to accept directions..!! Disobedience and no disobedience after it, denial and no denial after it. They did not know, and I wish they knew that as they disobey, they will be disobeyed, and that they will not escape what God has prepared for the disobedient children, sooner or later.

His Excellency called on those sons and daughters who disobey their fathers and mothers, saying: “…O disobedient sons and daughters, return to your senses before it is too late.. Repent sincerely to God.

Go back to your fathers and mothers, rectify your mistakes before you are surprised by the departure of your fathers and mothers from your world, because on that day you will regret for their loss and you will grieve over your negligence towards them..”.. He concluded his sermon by recalling the commitment to the important principles mentioned in Surat Al-Isra when dealing with parents, and he said: “Read morning and evening, and repeat day and night the Almighty’s saying: (And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and be kind to parents. Either one of them or both of them reach old age with you. Do not say to them “uff” and do not rebuke them, but speak to them with honor, as they raised me when I was small)).

Remember and preserve these six principles when dealing with parents, namely: The first principle: Kindness to them in word, deed and behavior, and it is a comprehensive name for everything that parents love and are pleased with. The second principle: Staying away from insulting them and getting bored of their behavior.. The third principle: Staying away from criticizing them, rebuking them, and hurting their feelings.. And the fourth principle: Addressing them with kind words at all times.

The fifth principle: humility towards them, and avoiding arrogance towards them. And the sixth principle: continuous supplication for them with forgiveness, mercy and contentment.

With these principles, you will obtain what the Prophet of God and His Messenger, our master Ismail, attained. May the best prayers and peace be upon him and our Prophet. Let us all return to our homes today, and we are all Ismail. Blessed are those of us who preserve these principles and bite on them with molars, for they are salvation, they are happiness, and they are prosperity and righteousness. In the two abodes..”

The sermon was well received, and left traces in the souls, and tears were shed by many of those who listened to the sermon. It is worth mentioning that His Excellency delivered the sermon in three languages, as he delivered the first sermon in Arabic and English, and as for the second sermon, he delivered it in Malay.