Parents... Ultimately Whose Responsibility?

If parents pray for you, your destiny improves.

This wealth has an impact for generations.

Parents are a great blessing from Allah Almighty, and no one can truly appreciate them enough. A mother's love and a father's affection are a treasure for a person's entire life. Unfortunately, a wrong perception has taken root in our society that serving and caring for parents is only the responsibility of sons, while daughters are considered separate from this duty after marriage. However, reality, ethics, and religion all negate this thinking. Parents are just as much the responsibility of daughters as they are of sons.

The sacrifices that parents make for their children are not specific to one gender. A mother raises both her son and daughter with the same love, and a father works equally hard for the future of both. When parents never differentiated between whether it was their son or daughter, then the children also do not have the right to differentiate in responsibility. Gratitude and service require that both sons and daughters acknowledge the favors of their parents.

Islam has given a very high status to the rights of parents. In the Holy Quran, there is a command to treat parents well, and this command is for every child, whether it is a son or a daughter. The Holy Prophet ﷺ declared serving parents as a means of attaining Paradise. Islam nowhere says that a daughter is not responsible for her parents after marriage. Therefore, separating daughters from their parents from a religious point of view is completely wrong.

In our society, it is generally believed that a son becomes a support in old age and a daughter is someone else's wealth. This thinking is not only an insult to the daughter but also ignores her abilities. Today's daughter is educated, aware, and independent. She is proving her abilities in every field. When she can serve society, why can't she serve her parents?

It is also worth considering that the responsibility of parents is not limited to financial assistance. Parents also need respect, love, time, and attention just as much. Many daughters understand their parents' feelings better and prove to be a strong emotional support for them. A phone call, a smile, and a few loving words can give parents the joy that even great wealth cannot give.

Putting pressure on a daughter after marriage that she is now only responsible for her in-laws is an unfair attitude. The love for her parents never diminishes in a daughter's heart, so why should her responsibility be considered less? If sons can manage both homes, then daughters can also fulfill this duty with balance.

In the end, it can only be said that for a civilized and just society, it is necessary that we change this thinking. The responsibility of parents is the joint responsibility of both son and daughter. Until we consider daughters as equal partners in this duty, the family system cannot be complete. In serving parents lies a person's true success and Allah's pleasure, and this service is equally a source of happiness for both sons and daughters.