Ibn al-Jawzi
Birr al-Walidayn - Ibn al-Jawzi
- Author died
- 597 AH
- Editions
- Birr al-Walidayn - Ibn al-Jawzi
Birr al-Walidayn (Filial Piety) is an ethical treatise by the Baghdadi Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH / 1201 CE) dedicated to the obligation of honoring parents, avoiding filial ingratitude, and maintaining ties of kinship .
Purpose and Composition
In his introduction, Ibn al-Jawzi explains that he was motivated to compile the work after observing many youths of his era neglecting their duty to honor their parents, raising their voices above them, severing ties of kinship, and disregarding charity and good deeds as though such duties were not mandated by scripture or sound reason . He organized the book into chapters and sections (fusūl and abwāb) combining rational arguments (maʿqūlāt) and transmitted traditions (manqūlāt) to awaken the heedless and remind the prudent .
Contents and Themes
The work gathers Quranic verses, prophetic hadiths, and narrations from the Companions and early generations (salaf) concerning filial devotion and the gravity of parental disobedience (ʿuqūq) . Among its core subjects:
- The Manner of Filial Piety (Kayfiyyat Birr al-Wālidayn): Ibn al-Jawzi defines filial piety as obeying parents in everything that does not involve sin, prioritizing their commands over supererogatory worship (nawāfil), spending on their financial needs, fulfilling their wishes, and serving them diligently .
- Etiquette of Conduct: The text outlines specific manners of respect, including not raising one's voice before them, avoiding staring at them, not addressing them by their given names, walking behind or to their right rather than ahead of them, waiting for them to sit before taking a seat, and patiently bearing any hardship caused by them .
- Spiritual Rewards and Warnings: The work cites traditions highlighting the exceptional status of the mother, the reward of paradise for serving parents, and the severe spiritual consequences of causing them distress or shedding their tears .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscripts of the text—sometimes recorded under the alternate titles al-Birr wa-al-Ṣilah or Risālah fī Birr al-Wālidayn—are held in several repositories, including the Egyptian National Library in Cairo, the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus, and the Chester Beatty Library in Ireland (dated to 735 AH) . The book has been published in multiple modern editions, including a 1993 edition in Cairo edited by Adil Abd al-Mawjud and Ali Mu'awwad .
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