Episode 2

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Dear brothers, in the previous episode, we mentioned that Allah Almighty commanded us with ten commandments in Surah Al-An'am. And these commandments are a great answer for those who ask about Islam from non-Muslims. Let us review these commandments briefly. Allah Almighty said: ((Say, 'Come, I will recite to you what your Lord has forbidden you: Do not associate anything with Him.')). So the first commandment is: ((Do not associate anything with Him)). He began with the right of Allah, glorified be He, who created us only to worship Him. Imagine again this non-Muslim person who wants to know about Islam and finds the ten commandments beginning with the right of Allah, then moving to the right of parents, then children, then the right of society and the orphans, the weak, and there is no mention of Muhammad (peace be upon him). This listener, who may have thought that Muslims worship Muhammad as the Christians worship Christ (peace be upon them), and that it is Muhammad who wrote the Quran to glorify himself. Then this listener sees that these are commandments for worshippers to improve their relationship with their Lord, then their relationship with each other, and Muhammad is only a messenger conveying from his Lord, claiming no rank for himself other than this, and did not make himself the subject of the Holy Quran. And Allah Almighty began with the prohibition of shirk because it nullifies the righteous deeds mentioned in the commandments. Have you not seen the saying of Allah Almighty: ((And the Messiah said, 'O Children of Israel, worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Indeed, whoever associates partners with Allah - he has certainly forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.')). So the first commandment is: ((Do not associate anything with Him)). The second commandment: ((And to parents, kindness))... Notice, my brothers, Allah Almighty did not say: ((And do not disobey your parents)), but here there is a commandment beyond leaving disobedience, which is to be kind to the parents, to excel in pleasing them and bringing joy to their hearts. It is not enough to avoid disobeying them, but we must be kind to them. As if the Quran elevates the addressed human to a level where disobedience is unimaginable, to the point that it does not need to be prohibited. Rather, it is required of him to be kind to his parents. We also notice that Allah Almighty mentioned the right of parents after mentioning His right, glorified be He, to honor the right of parents. And this pairing is frequent in the Quran. It is sufficient to say: ((And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. [He says], 'Be grateful to Me and to your parents.'))... Link gratitude to Allah with gratitude to the parents. And no wonder. For whoever is accustomed to denying the good to his parents, do not expect him to be grateful to Allah Almighty, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ((Whoever does not thank people does not thank Allah)). And the first people to thank, my brother, are your parents. So this is the second commandment: ((And to parents, kindness)). We will continue with the ten commandments in the upcoming episodes, by the will of Allah. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.