Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal was performing ablution at the canal,
when his student also arrived to perform ablution,
but immediately stood up and went and sat ahead of Imam Sahib.
Upon asking, he said
that the thought came to his mind that water from my side is flowing towards you.
I felt ashamed that the teacher should perform ablution with my used water.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked his own uncle, Hazrat Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him),
are you older or am I?
(The intention was to ask about age)
He said, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, you are greater, but I am older in age.

Mujaddid Alif Sani used to take this precaution while sleeping at night
that his feet should not be towards the house of the teacher
and while going to the toilet, he would take this precaution
that no ink from the pen with which he was writing should remain on his hand.

This manner of respect has been a hallmark of Islamic civilization
and it was not only specific to the subcontinent
but wherever Islam went, a similar civilization was created under the influence of its teachings
in which respect for elders was of particular importance
because everyone remembered this saying of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ
that he who does not respect the elders and does not love the young is not one of us.

It hasn't been long
that people considered it bad to sit equal to their parents,
to walk ahead of them, and to speak louder than them
and they considered it an honor to act on their orders.
Because of this, Allah ﷻ also rewarded them.
It was famous in Islamic societies
that whoever wants Allah ﷻ to increase his sustenance
should fulfill the right of respect for parents.
And whoever wants Allah ﷻ to increase his knowledge should respect the teacher.

A friend says that
I collected money with great difficulty and bought a plot, so my father said
that son, your brother so-and-so is weak.
If you give this plot to him, I will give you prayers.
Although that brother was disobedient to the parents.
That (friend) says that
reason explained a lot that doing this is foolishness
but I said to reason that Iqbal has said,
It is good that reason remains the guardian with the heart
But sometimes leave it alone,
So, I left reason alone and gave that plot to the brother.
He says that the father was very happy
and it is the charity of his prayer that today I have many houses and plazas
while the brother only has a house on that plot.

Like parents,
respect for the teacher was also a distinctive feature of Islamic societies
and its continuity was also going on from the time of the Companions (Sahaba) (RA).

Ibn Abbas (RA), the cousin of the Prophet ﷺ,
If he went to get any Hadith from any Sahabi, he would go and sit at his door.
He considered it against etiquette to knock on his door
and when that Sahabi (RA) himself came out for some work
then he would ask him about the Hadith
and during this time sweat would flow in the intense heat, the hot wind would blow
and he would keep enduring it.
That Sahabi would be ashamed and say
that you (RA) are the cousin of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, you should have called me
then he would say that I have come as a student, it was your right that I should respect you
and not bother you for my work.

For a long time, this custom remained in our education system
(rather it is still in Islamic schools)
that every subject teacher had a room, he would sit there and the students themselves would go and study there, while now the students sit in the classes
and the teacher goes to them all day long.

In Muslim civilizations, this matter was not limited to parents and teachers only
but similar precautions were taken in the matter of other relationships as well.
There, the younger was younger, and the elder was elder.
The younger did not become older with increasing age but remained younger.

Ibn Umar (RA) was going when he saw a Bedouin.
He got off the vehicle, treated him with great respect and gave him a lot of gifts.
Someone said that
this is a Bedouin, he would have been happy with a little, you gave him so much.
He said that he used to come to my father
so I was ashamed that I should not respect him.

When Islamic civilization weakened, like many things, this value of hierarchy also lost its importance.
Now the drum of equality was beaten and children stood equal to their parents and students equal to the teacher.