18. The Slave Woman gives birth to her Owner

This is the famous hadith of Jibreel, in Bukhari and Muslim. Jibreel asked RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam about the signs of the day of judgment. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that one of the signs is that the woman would give birth to her master, or that the slave would give birth to her master.

The scholars give a few interpretations for this. One of the interpretations is that the children would become so rude, disobedient and aggressive in their dealings with their mothers, to the extent that it becomes like a slave and master relationship. The child is like a master and the mother is like a slave. This is the opinion adapted by Ibn Hajar. He says, “This is the most preferable opinion, because it is the most general.” I think we are seeing this. Before, in Muslim and non Muslim cultures, there was a lot of respect for parents. Just a few generations ago, there was a lot more respect for parents. Now, you’ll find that at the age of 18, or even earlier, children would break off from the family; they wouldn’t see that they have any obligation towards the parents. This is by law. If the son or daughter is 18 years old, the parents cannot get anything from them. The practice and actions of the people are even worse. You hear horrific stories of how the children treat their parents.

This is a teaching of Islam - and common sense - that the parents have done so much for the child, and therefore, they come second after Allah subhaana wa ta’aala in terms of obligations. Allah has done the most for us – we owe Him everything and He owes us nothing. That’s why our gratitude should be to Allah. Second are the parents.

Allah says in the Qur’aan, “Allah has decreed/ordered/prescribed that you worship nobody but Allah and that you be dutiful towards the parents.” The parents are second – immediately after Allah mentioned Himself, He mentioned dutifulness parents.

The child was helpless, with no one to help them but the parents. The only way the child could survive was from the help of the parents, from the ability that Allah gave them. SubhanAllah, at the age of 15, the child does not pay anything back. This is the ultimate degree of ungratefulness.