Sidna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, says that a man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, "O Messenger of Allah! Of all the people, who has the greatest right over me for good companionship?" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied, "Your mother." He asked, "Then who?" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Then your mother." He asked, "Then who?" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Then your mother." He asked, "Then who?" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Then your father." (The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave precedence to the mother because the mother endures much hardship with the child: carrying him for nine months, then giving birth, then nursing, then raising, caring during illness and distress.)

Narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: No child spoke in the cradle except for three children. One was ‘Isa (peace be upon him), the second was the companion of Jurayj. And Jurayj was a devout worshipper who built a place of worship and lived in it. He was praying when his mother came and called him,“O Jurayj!”He thought to himself,“O Allah, my mother is calling me and I am in prayer (should I continue praying or respond to my mother)?”In the end, he remained in prayer, so his mother went back. The next day, she came again and called,“O Jurayj!”He said,“O Allah, my mother is calling me and I am in prayer.”Again, he remained in prayer. On the third day, his mother came and called, but Jurayj remained in prayer, so his mother said,“O Allah, do not let him die until he sees the faces of immoral women (i.e., until he is confronted by them).”Then the Children of Israel began to talk about Jurayj and his worship. Among the Children of Israel was a prostitute whose beauty was proverbial. She said,“If you wish, I will put Jurayj to trial.”Then the woman went before Jurayj, but he paid her no attention. Eventually, she went to a shepherd who used to take refuge in Jurayj’s place of worship, and she allowed him to have relations with her, so he did, and she became pregnant by him. When she gave birth to the child, she said,“This child is from Jurayj.”Hearing this, the people came to him, brought him down, destroyed his place of worship, and began to beat him. He said,“What is the matter with you?”They said,“You committed adultery with this prostitute, and she has given birth to your child.”Jurayj said,“Where is the child?”They brought the child, so Jurayj said,“Let me pray.”Then he prayed, came to the child, poked him in the stomach, and said,“O child, who is your father?”The child said,“So-and-so, the shepherd.”Hearing this, the people rushed to Jurayj, kissing and caressing him, and said,“We will rebuild your place of worship with gold and silver.”He said,“No, rebuild it as it was, with clay.”So they rebuilt it.

(The third) was a child among the Children of Israel who was suckling from his mother when a well-dressed, handsome rider passed by. His mother, seeing him, said,“O Allah, make my son like this rider.”Upon hearing this, the child left his mother’s breast, looked at the rider, and said,“O Allah, do not make me like him.”After saying this, he returned to suckling. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“It is as if I am seeing the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at that moment, showing with his finger how the boy began to suckle again.”Then a slave woman passed by whom people were beating and saying,“You have committed adultery and theft.”She was saying,“Allah is sufficient for me, and He is my guardian.”So his mother said,“O Allah, do not make my son like her.”Hearing this, the child again left suckling, looked at the woman, and said,“O Allah, make me like her.”At that time, a conversation took place between the mother and the child. The mother said,“O shaven-headed one! When a handsome man passed by and I said, ‘O Allah, make my son like him,’ you said, ‘O Allah, do not make me like him.’ And when the slave woman, whom people were beating and accusing of adultery and theft, passed by, I said, ‘O Allah, do not make my son like her,’ you said, ‘O Allah, make me like her.’ (What is the matter?)”The child replied,“That rider was a tyrant, so I prayed, ‘O Allah, do not make me like him.’ And as for the slave woman, people were falsely accusing her, saying she committed adultery and theft, though she had done neither, so I said, ‘O Allah, make me like her.’”

‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said:“I pledge allegiance to you for migration and jihad, seeking reward from Allah.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked:“Are either of your parents alive?”He replied:“Both are alive.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked:“Do you seek reward from Allah?”He replied:“Yes.”The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Then return to your parents and treat them kindly.”

Sayyiduna Mughirah bin Shu’bah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Indeed, Allah the Exalted has made disobedience to mothers, burying daughters alive (as the disbelievers used to do), not giving (to whom it is due while having wealth), and asking (for that which one has no right to ask) forbidden for you. And He dislikes three things (though they are not as sinful as the first three): useless talk, excessive questioning, and wasting wealth.

Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "May his nose be rubbed in dust, may his nose be rubbed in dust, may his nose be rubbed in dust." It was asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Whose?" He said: "The one who finds his parents, both of them or one of them, in old age, and then does not enter Paradise (by serving them)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) that when he would go to Makkah, he would keep a donkey with him for recreation, and when he would get tired from riding the camel, he would ride on it, and he would keep a turban which he would tie on his head. One day, he was going on the donkey when suddenly a Bedouin appeared. Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Are you not so-and-so, the son of so-and-so?" He replied, "Yes." Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) gave him the donkey and said, "Ride on it," and also gave him the turban and said, "Tie it on your head." Some of Sayyiduna Abdullah's companions said, "You have given away your recreational donkey and the turban which you used to tie on your head. May Allah forgive you." He said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'The greatest act of goodness is that a person treats his father's friends well after his father's death.' And this Bedouin's father was a friend of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)."

Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) says: A woman came to me with her two daughters. She asked me (for something), but I had nothing except one date, so I gave it to her. She took the date, split it into two pieces, and gave one piece to each of her daughters, and she herself did not eat anything. Then she got up and left. After that, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came, so I told him about this woman. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever is tested with daughters (i.e., raises them, teaches them religion, and marries them to a righteous person), then on the Day of Resurrection, they will become a shield for him from Hell.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever raises two girls until they reach maturity, then on the Day of Resurrection, I and he will come like this—and he (peace be upon him) joined his fingers together (meaning, on the Day of Resurrection, he will be with me). A Muslim should, if he has daughters himself, do good to them; otherwise, he should raise two orphan girls and, when they reach maturity, arrange their marriage, so that he may attain the companionship of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

`Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, "Whoever wishes that his provision be increased and his life be prolonged, then he should maintain his ties (i.e., treat his relatives well)."

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man said, "O Messenger of Allah! I have some relatives with whom I maintain ties, but they cut me off. I do good to them, but they do evil to me. I show patience, but they act ignorantly towards me." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "If you are truly as you say, then it is as if you are throwing hot ashes on their faces, and there will always remain with you an angel from Allah who will support you against them as long as you remain in that state."