Say Not Fie Unto Them

Ingratitude towards Parents, a modern day scourge that dismantles the very structure of family bonding, is the cause of many and almost all the troubles in these days, as it decays the core of the society and then the worst is to follow. We all read horrible stories about sons killing their parents almost everyday; matricide and parricide are common terms in news nowadays. And in the lesser form of ingratitude towards parents, though also a sin, we see young people abandoning their parents, in a time when they are in dire need to them. It is happening everywhere but especially in the West and the so called advanced countries. This is a problem that has been tackled thoroughly in Islam.

Allah says" Thy Lord hath decreed, that ye worship none save Him, and (that ye show) kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them to attain old age with thee, say not "Fie" unto them nor repulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word" ( Noble Qur'an 17:23)

It should be an issue of paramount importance that it followed the capital sin in Islam, i.e. to worship other than Allah. The noble verse highlights the value of parents in Islam and the way sons should follow in dealing with their fathers. So, even a small word as fie, offf in the original Arabic text of the Noble Qur'an , must not be said to any of the parents.
It is guidance from Allah to all the human beings, a divine message that every one of any faith must follow. This is one of the reasons Islam is called a religion of high morals.
Not only Muslims must be pious and polite towards their parents, but also to financially support them if they needed and to take care of them using whatever means available to them.
Ingratitude towards parents is one of the sins that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) warned its doers of their doom both in this life and in the Hereafter.
Some would argue that not all Muslims are good to their parents, which is right, but this has nothing to do with the doctrine, and if people fall short of its application, that is not a blemish to such doctrine, but to the people who fail to abide by it.