Fathers: The Gates to Paradise
It has been related to us by the Best of Creation:
He who thanks not people, can show no appreciation
To the exalted Creator and Cherisher of humanity.
Thus is gratitude one of the keys to unending Felicity.
Many are those who enrich our lives, time and again
During our brief sojourn on this earthly plane.
But near the top of the list, we must never forget
the gratitude we owe the man whose name we inherit,
He who Allah made the cause of our worldly existence.
After this, thanks of any amount becomes a pittance.
We speak of course, of fathers, if you are not yet aware,
and all the hardships and sacrifices they selflessly bear.
Not only in securing for us our means of well-being,
But in teaching us virtues, to our Lord so pleasing.
Whence did we first learn of traits defining nobility
like decency, honor, manhood, and integrity?
Where else but the school of our fatherly exemplar
Who taught so much simply through his character.
He taught us in hardship and ease, through thick and thin,
How ennobling it is to serve one's family, kith, and kin.
He taught us more through his silent contemplation
Than one ever learns from others’ endless conversation.
He taught us what it means to be truly human, upright
And how one stands on principle, regardless of one’s plight.
Without doubt, we owe so much to our mothers’ nurturing care
But he who toiled for her every comfort also deserves a share.
As so my plea to us all, that we not earmark one single day
Out of the year, to buy him a cheap gift and be on our way.
Rather, from this day forth we resolve to adhere
To observing a Father’s Day on every day of the year,
By striving to serve him in excellence, fulfilling his needs,
Showing him utmost respect and love, in word and in deeds.
O Allah, through our parents, grant us the best of endings and a goodly fate!
For if Paradise lies at the mother's feet, then the father is surely its gate!
By a Son
