Looking after the Elderly

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Contents

Honouring the elderly Action plan Coming up

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As our elders continue into old age, they may start to unmask their vulnerabilities and seek our assistance in day-to-day tasks. We see from our own observations, that our elderly folk transition from being contentedly independent, to gloomily dependent, due to their physical and mental deterioration.

Allah informs us of this jarring reality of life:

وَمِنكُم مَّن يُتَوَفَّىٰ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰٓ أَرْذَلِ ٱلْعُمُرِ لِكَيْلَا يَعْلَمَ مِنۢ بَعْدِ عِلْمٍۢ شَيْـًۭٔا

“Some of you (may) die (young), while others are left to reach the feeblest stage of life, so that they may know nothing after having known much.” [1]

Honouring the elderly

Islam stresses the importance of caring for elderly folk, whether they are members of our family, or part of the wider community.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said,

إِنَّ مِنْ إِجْلَالِ اللَّهِ إِكْرَامَ ذِي الشَّيْبَةِ الْمُسْلِمِ 

“Verily, part of glorifying Allah is to honour the grey-haired Muslim.” [2]

In this report, the Prophet (ﷺ) emphasised the high-ranking stature of an aged person, and rendered his respect a direct measure of how much Allah is exalted and respected.

Action plan

As we come close to completing an entire month’s worth of worship, let us make a genuine effort to try and honour our elderly, as per the Islamic guidance.

Here are a few practical steps we can take to do that:

Locate a specific day where you will spend time with the elderly folk in your family on a weekly basis at the least;
Enquire within your local nursing home and set a time to visit the folks there – this also serves as a great da’wah opportunity;
If you see an elderly person holding groceries, offer them a helping hand!