‘Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd said: I asked the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam): “Which action is the most beloved to Allāh the Mighty and Majestic?” So the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) responded: “The prayer upon its correct time.” He said: Then I asked him: “Then what after that?” So the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Then it is being dutiful and kind to the parents.” Then I asked: “Then what?” So the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) answered: “Then it is Jihād in the cause of Allāh.” So then ‘Abdullāh bin Mas’ūd said: “The Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) narrated these things to me and if I’d asked him for more (questions), he would have given me more (answers).”
And Allāh (subhānahu wa ta’ālā) has stated: “And we have enjoined upon man to be good to his parents and his mother carried him with hardship and weakness and she gave birth to him with difficulty and hardship.” [Sūrat al-Ahqāf: 15] So this is what Allāh (subhānahu wa ta’ālā) has enjoined upon us in His Book. And likewise, Allāh (subhānahu wa ta’ālā) has said: “And we have enjoined upon man to be dutiful and good to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship…” [Sūrat Luqmān: 14]
