than their parents.
The word ʿuqūq (disobedience) is derived from ʿaqq, which literally means “to cut.” From that same root comes ʿaqīqah, the animal sacrificed for a newborn on the seventh day, so called because its neck is cut at the moment of slaughter.
Disobedience to parents is one of the major sins, for the threat of punishment for it is firmly established in both the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and the same applies to severing ties of kinship. Allah the Exalted says: “Would you, if you came to hold power, spread corruption on earth and sever your family ties? Such are the ones whom Allah has cursed; He made them deaf and blinded their eyes.” ⦗Muhammad: 22–23⦘ In other words, once you assume authority you corrupt the land, cut off your relatives, become deserving of the curse, and Allah blinds your sight.
“And blinded their eyes”: here “eyes” refers to inner perception—the insight—not the physical eyes. It means that Allah, Most High, blinds a person’s understanding—Allah’s refuge is sought—so he sees falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood.
This is a punishment that comes both in the Hereafter and in this world.
• The punishment of the Hereafter is in His words: “Such are the ones whom Allah has cursed.” ⦗al-Nisāʾ: 52⦘
• The worldly punishment is indicated by His words: “so He made them deaf,” meaning He deafened their ears from hearing and benefiting from the truth, “and blinded their eyes” from seeing and benefiting from it.
Allah the Exalted also says: “Those who break the covenant of Allah after it has been affirmed, sever what Allah has commanded to be joined, and spread corruption in the land—upon them is the curse, and for them is the most wretched abode.” ⦗al-Raʿd: 25⦘ The covenant here denotes a firmly confirmed pledge, yet they break it; they sever what Allah has ordered to be maintained—relatives and others—and they spread corruption in the land through numerous sins. “Upon them is the curse,” and a curse means to be expelled and driven far from the mercy of Allah, “and for them is an evil—