Islam says we must obey our parents. What about when they ask us to do ridiculous things?

Question

My father asks me to do a lot of things that he's too lazy to do himself, and these things seem very wrong. 

An example of this is him calling me from the mosque to come back home to turn on the TV for him or to pass him the remote. He calls me to send me twice every minute. 

Islam says that you should obey your parents as long as what they tell you to do is not a sin. So am I forced to obey him in this kind of scenario? 

Can my father command me to do anything he wants (as long as it's not a sin)? If so, what if he wakes me up in the night to cook a difficult dish for him?

Answer 1

عن أسماء بنت أبي بكر رضي الله عنهما، قالت: قدمت علي أمي وهي مشركة في عهد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فاستفتيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، قلت: وهي راغبة، أفأصل أمي؟ قال: نعم صلي أمك Narrated Asma' bint Abu Bakr:

My mother came to me during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and she was a pagan. I said to Allah's Apostle (seeking his verdict), "My mother has come to me and she desires to receive a reward from me, shall I keep good relations with her?"

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Yes, keep good relation with her."

— Bukhari

My Mom asks for weird things of me too. I belive if you make dua, Allah will answer. Allah knows what you are going through. In tough times, I find it best to praise and build your relationship with Allah. However, your parents are in no position to keep you from Allah. I think you should make Salat al-Istikharah and talk to your parents about this. May Allah guide you.

Answer 2

I find the following video has helped me a lot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7I5OKM5qco&t=524s

And then, you must make the decision yourself as to what constitutes 'too far' and 'unIslamic', but remember how Ibraheem AS treated his polythiest, mushrik father when he kicked him out of the house: he said words of peace--only every words of peace.

Answer 3

Islam says we must obey our parents. What about when we are asked to do ridiculous things? The point to keep in mind is the difference between respect and obedience. Respect is one thing and obedience is another. The realm of respect for parents is very wide. Man is obliged to treat them with respect in any case, but obedience is not the scope of respect, but is limited, and everywhere and in everything obedience to parents It is not necessary. Now, what do you mean by the mistake of parents to respect them? If it means a customary mistake, such as parents interfering unnecessarily in their children's lives and., We should respect them, but at the same time, gently acknowledge their mistake.

But should their obedience be obeyed here if their obedience leads to sin? If you mean a mistake, a religious mistake, such as ordering something that is against the law, then in that case they still need to be respected, but obedience to them is not permissible, because obedience to God is not permissible in any sin.

Ref: https://www.mashreghnews.ir/news/1131652