According to the world’s order, living things are born, grow, age, and die. According to Islam, old age, a phase of the life flow, has been evaluated from different perspectives and has been the subject of verses and hadiths. [1] Old age is the period of weakness in life. In addition to this, The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) drew attention to the importance of the subject with his saying, “Respect for the elderly comes from respect for Allah.” [2]
Old age is a condition that no human being can escape. [3] In the Qur’an, when talking about the condition of the elderly, the expression “the frailest age of life” is used. [4] It is recommended to treat people who have reached this stage of devotion with compassion and good manners. In verses 23-25 of Israa Surah, the following words spoken to those who have elderly parents with them reveal an evident approach: “If one or both of them reach old age with you, do not even say ‘Ugh!’ to them, do not scold them; say nice words to them. Give them the wing of mercy and humility, and say: ‘O Lord, have mercy on them just as they fed and raised me when I was little.’ Your Lord is most knowing of what is within yourselves. If you are righteous, surely He is very forgiving to those who turn to Him.” [5]
Older people, who have to move away from production and economic benefits, are not seen as a burden to society in the eyes of Muslims. On the contrary, they are seen as a “source of abundance” and “a means of protection against dangers.”
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “If Allah helps you and gives you sustenance, isn’t it because of the weak among you?” [6] According to this and similar hadiths [7], babies, the sick, the elderly, the poor, and the disabled are the means of Allah’s generosity towards humanity.
Another hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is as follows: “If it were not for the pious young people, the old people with bent backs, the children suckling, the animals that spread out, troubles would fall on you like a flood.” [8] This hadith means that older adults will be affected by the troubles that may befall society. It means that they are spiritual lightning rods against them.
While the period of old age can cause a sad and frightening effect for a person who does not believe in the existence of Allah and the Hereafter, it can arouse a feeling of intimacy in the believer’s world. Such as to “get rid of the burdens of the world and the difficulties of life and reunite with their loved ones who have died before.”[9]
The loved ones of older adults, like parents, close relatives, and friends, have accumulated more in the hereafter than in this world. Such a Muslim hopes to reunite with his loved ones in the hereafter and continues to worship enthusiastically.
The physical difficulties brought on by aging encourage people to avoid worldly greed and to turn to Allah more in the helplessness they feel. Allah has mercy on people on the way to eternity by making the last period of their life live in the conditions of old age. The phenomenon of aging in human life is a period of opportunities for reviewing his life, repenting his sins, and increasing their worship of Allah.
Disability, sickness, and old age are the constraints of this world. There will be none of these in the eternal life of the hereafter. When the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that older people could not enter Paradise, an older woman heard this and became sad. Muhammad (PBUH) gave the good news that people will enter Paradise not by being old but by being turned into the best age. [10]
The existence of the phenomenon of old age is also a versatile and vital reminder for young people.
[1] Nahl/70
[2] Abu Dawud, Adab, 20. See also. Tirmidhi, Birr, 15
[3] “The Son of Adam was created with the mortal dangers surrounding him; Even if he overcomes these dangers, he will catch old age and eventually die.” (Tirmidhi, Destiny, 14)
[4] Hajj/5
[5] Israa/23-25
[6] Bukhari, Jihad 76
[7] Abu Dawud, Jihad 70; Nesai, Jihad 43.
[8] Tabarani, al-Awsat, 7/134
[9] 26.Lem’a, Lem’alar, Said Nursi
[10] Tirmidhi, Shemail, 144