Tenderness Towards Parents

An example that confirms this, and which I personally experienced, is the following:

My closest friends know that for two or three years my daily ration consisted of half a loaf of bread, which was often insufficient for me.^[1] Then four cats came to me as guests. That same ration became sufficient both for me and for them, and often some food even remained. This happened so frequently that I became convinced that I was benefiting from the blessing brought by the cats. I declare with certainty that they were not a burden upon me and were not indebted to me. On the contrary, I was indebted to them.

O human being! If an animal that appears half-wild becomes a means of blessing when it enters a human home as a guest, then consider how much greater a source of blessing and mercy it is when there dwells in your home a human being—the noblest of creatures; a believer—the noblest among human beings; a helpless and ill elderly person—the one most deserving of respect and compassion among believers; a relative—among elderly people the one most deserving of tenderness, service, and love; and a father or mother—among relatives the truest friends and most loyal beloveds.

Moreover, through the truth contained in:

لَوْلاَ الشُّيُوخُ الرُّكَّعُ لَصُبَّ عَلَيْكُمُ الْبَلاَۤءُ صَبًّاWere it not for the elderly who bow in worship, calamities would descend upon you in torrents

you may understand that they are also a means by which calamities and misfortunes are averted.

Therefore, O human being, come to your senses! If you do not die before then, you too will become old. If you do not show respect to your parents, then, according to the principle that:

اَلْجَزَاءُ مِنْ جِنْسِ الْعَمَلِThe recompense is of the same nature as the deed.

your own children will not serve you.

If you love the Hereafter, then here is a great treasure for you: serve your parents and seek their pleasure.

If you love this world, then still strive to please them, so that your life may be comfortable and your sustenance blessed through them.

But if you regard them as burdensome, wish for their death, and wound their tender and easily hurt hearts, then, as expressed in the verse:

خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا وَ الْاٰخِرَةَHe loses both this world and the Hereafter. — The Quran 22:11

you will suffer loss both in this world and in the Hereafter.

If you desire the mercy of the Most Merciful, then show mercy to those whom the Most Merciful has entrusted to you within your home.