The Importance of Dutifulness to Parents

Question:
Shaykh Abdul Aziz, the program has seized upon an occasion to discuss dutifulness to parents. How does a father help his children be dutiful to him? And how should children be toward their parents? If you would be so kind.

Answer:
Dutifulness to parents is among the most important obligations and the greatest of the duties. Allah coupled the right of the parents with His right, Glorified and Exalted is He, in the oneness of Allah, where He said, Exalted and Majestic, in His great Book: [Al-Isra: 23], meaning: He commanded and advised. So He advised His servants not to worship except Him, to single Him out for worship. Then He said: [Al-Isra: 23].
So He made the right of the parents alongside His right (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is known that His right is the greatest of the duties, which is the oneness of Allah. This indicates that dutifulness to parents is among the most important duties. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [Luqman: 14], so He made gratitude to the parents alongside gratitude to Him (peace and blessings be upon him), which indicates the greatness of their right. And in the authentic hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is agreed upon as authentic. So he made undutifulness to parents the companion of associating partners with Allah, just as dutifulness is the companion of the oneness of Allah. Then he made false testimony the greatest of the major sins after associating partners with Allah and undutifulness to parents.
So it is obligatory for the children, whether male or female, to fear Allah, to be sincere to Allah in worship, to be upright in obedience to Him, Glorified is He, and to be dutiful to their parents whether they are alive or dead, with good speech, with supplication, with charity on their behalf, and so on. And in their lifetime, by listening and obeying in what is good, and fulfilling their rights, and so on, from what is obligatory for them in life, such as financial maintenance if they are in need, and refraining from harm, and not cursing or insulting, and not causing any harm. This is what is obligatory for the child with his parents. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: , the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed about five matters, all of which are from dutifulness to the parents after the death of the parents:
The first and second: And this includes the funeral prayer, that he prays the funeral prayer for them.
The third: meaning: the bequest that they bequeath, the child executes it if it is lawful. He must execute it if it is in accordance with the pure Shari'ah, such as a bequest by the father or mother for charity to the poor, for a sacrifice, for a pilgrimage, for building a mosque, or other than this from what Allah has legislated, if that comes out of the one-third. But if it is more than the one-third, it must be made an inheritance. However, as long as the bequest is the one-third or less, it is obligatory to execute it and strive to complete it; because this is from executing their covenant after them.
And so, every bequest that benefits them and does not contradict the pure Shari'ah, executing it is from being dutiful to them. For example, if they bequeath that their adult children strive to be kind to their young children, their sons or daughters, or if they bequeath to honor their brother or sister, or their brothers or sisters, or if they bequeath to honor so-and-so or so-and-so because of the friendship between them and him, and the like of that.