How Do Muslims Treat the Elderly?

[right]How Do Muslims Treat the Elderly?

In the Islamic world, one rarely finds “old
people’s homes.” The strain of caring for one’s parents in this most
difficult time of their lives is considered an honor and a blessing and an
opportunity for great spiritual growth. In Islam, it is not enough that we
only pray for our parents, but we should act with limitless compassion,
remembering that when we were helpless children, they preferred us to
themselves. Mothers are particularly honored. When Muslim parents
reach old age, they are treated mercifully, with kindness and selflessness.
In Islam, serving one’s parents is a duty second
to prayer, and it is their right to expect it. It is considered despicable
to express any irritation when, through no fault of their own, the old become
difficult.

Your
Lord has commanded that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to your
parents. If one of them or both of them reach old age with you, do not say
to them a word of disrespect, or scold them, but say a generous word to
them. And act humbly to them in mercy, and say, “My Lord, have mercy on
them, since they cared for me when I was small.”
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