الكافي- ط الاسلامية, volume 2, page 159

6. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from his father from ‘Abd Allah ibn Bahr from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muskan from those whom he has mentioned from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Once the Imam spoke to ‘Abd al- Wahid al-Ansari, while I was present, about kindness to parents mentioned in the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘Be kind to parents.’ We thought it was the verse in Chapter Seventeen that says, ‘. . . the Lord has ordained that you must not worship anyone other than Him and that you must “Be kind to your parents. . . .’ (17:23) Later I asked the Imam and he said, ‘It was verse 14-15 of Chapter 31, that says, “(Concerning his parents), We advised the man, (to be good to parents). . . . (31:14) If they try to force you to consider things equal to Me, which you cannot justify to be equal to Me, do not obey them.” (31:15) The Imam then said, ‘This shows greater significance of maintaining good relations with them in all cases.’ I asked about: ‘If they try to force you to consider things equal to Me, which you cannot justify to be equal to Me, do not obey them.’ (31:15) The Imam said, ‘It, in fact, is a command to establish good relations with parents even if they struggle to make him consider things equal to Allah. It only shows the greatness of the rights of parents.’” (Note: al-Majlisi in Mir’at al-‘Uqul has expressed concern about the authenticity of this Hadith. For details one may refer to this work.)

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.

7. It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from Muhammad ibn Ali from al-Hakam ibn Miskin from Muhammad ibn Marwan who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Nothing prevents any of you from doing kindness to your parents, who are living or dead, in the form of prayer for them, giving charity on their behalf, performing Hajj and fasting on their behalf. These are things that one can do for them. He will also receive similar credit, thus, Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, will grant him a great deal of good rewards for his kindness to his parents.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.

8. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Mu’ammar ibn Khallad who has said the following: “I asked abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.) ‘Can I pray for my parents who do not know the truth?’ The Imam said, ‘Pray for them and give charity on their behalf. If they are living and do not know the truth, be kind to them; the Messenger of Allah has said, “Allah has sent me with (message of) kindness and not to punish.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.

9. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Hisham ibn Salim from abu ‘Abd Allah who has said the following: “Once a man came to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, to whom should I be kind?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Be kind to your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then whom?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then whom?’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then whom?’ The Messenger of Allah said, “Be kind to your father.”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.