How Does Islam View Sandwich Generation, Burden Or Blessings?

JAKARTA In Islam, being a sandwich generation is not always seen as a burden, because the best alms are to the closest family, including parents.

Many people think that being a sandwich generation is one of the burdens of a burdensome life. Like sandwiches, which are stuck between meat and bread, these generations are also squeezed by the demands of a layered economy.

With great economic demands, feelings of anxiety, fear, and sadness often approach. Especially when the economy is actually mediocre, or even tends to be short-lived.

Based on the Kompas survey in 2022, generations often come from the middle-low class. In the United States, there are about 23 percent of them are part of a sandwich generation.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia alone, around 48.7 percent of the population of productive age (25-45 years) is the generation of sandwiches that have financial responsibility for their families.

This term was first introduced by Dorothy A. Miller in 1981 in an article entitled The 'sandwich' generation: adult children of the aging' in the journal Social Work. In this phase of life, a person is among two big responsibilities: raising their own children while caring for elderly parents. They, like being pinched, use the term sandwiched.

Being a sandwich generation is believed to not only burden financially, but also emotionally. Those who are in this phase, in addition to having to think about the future of children, must also be responsible for the dignity of parents who are getting older.

Even feelings of worry about being a sandwich generation often make someone afraid to get married. However, how does Islam view this phenomenon?

In Islam, you don't really know the term generationandwich, as stated by KH Yahya Zainul Ma'arif or who is familiarly known as Buya Yahya.

According to Buya Yahya, someone should not be afraid that in marriage they must bear the financial burden for children and parents at once. In fact, this is an opportunity for a Muslim to do charity and get rewards.

"For example, if I suddenly have a child then I will pay for my child, my mother I will pay for, didn't it be God who gave me strength? I was lucky that I could have charity when I helped my mother, my father," said Buya Yahya on YouTube @buyuyahyaofficial.

He also reminded that in Islam, serving parents is a great service. A child who is able to respect and finance his parents, according to Buya Yahya, has done a very valuable charity in the sight of Allah.

"If a child can respect his mother, pay for his mother, he understands that his thigh heaven service is easy to be happy," he added.

In Islam, being devoted to parents is mandatory for every child. And, one way to serve and do good to parents is to support both of them when they no longer have income because of their declining physical strength.

Or it could also be because of conditions that make them not have sufficient wealth to meet their daily needs. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has described this in the Qur'an of the letter Al-Baqarah verse 215.

They ask you about what to donate. Say, 'Whatever wealth you seek, it should be for both parents, relatives, orphans, the poor and the people on the way. And whatever good you do, then in fact Allah knows."

However, it is undeniable that the economic factor is to require a person to face a dilemma when having to choose between his own family who are under him and his parents.

In the midst of this dilemma, a person is faced with a difficult choice whether to treat his wife well or to be devoted to his parents.

According to Ustadz Khalid Basalamah, when a family head has a mediocre income or who has just started work, he must choose between his parents and his wife, then he must make a priority. In Islam, the obligation of the husband is to prioritize his wife and children in daily unity.

"Because it is not the child's obligation to provide support to parents," he said.

When the obligation to fulfill daily expenses for his wife and children is met, then they can meet the needs of their parents. To help parents, said Ustadz Khalid, you can work together with other families. So, it's not just the obligation of one child.

The same thing was said by Musthafa Al-Khin, a contemporary fiqh expert from Damascus who died in 2008 explaining, "After for him, a husband must prioritize his wife. Supporting his wife is prioritized because his life does not die over time. It is different from the obligation to support parents or children. Their livelihoods die over time.

Buya Yahya also gave a message to Muslims who were worried that financial responsibility in the family could be overcome with faith. For him, a Muslim who has strong faith will not be afraid because he believes God will give strength and sustenance to bear the burden.

And if someone is unable to financially provide a living to their parents, then there is no guilt for him. According to Buya Yahya, the most important thing is faith and intention to serve.

"If we can't afford it, don't sin. Done with faith, why should we be afraid?" he said.