A mother is the most beautiful relationship gifted to humankind by Allah. She has been exalted by Allah as a great human being. A woman’s status changes from the ordinary to divine when she conceives her first child. The 9 months of nourishing a new life in her womb; the divine sanctuary, exalts her to the most blessed of people. She automatically becomes entitled to innumerable rights and responsibilities. Of course, Allah has chosen a mother as a portal of bringing new life – a new Muslim – to the world.
In the words of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him & his progeny): "The word "Ar-Rahm" (womb) derives its name from "Ar-Rahman" (i.e. Allah). So whoever keeps good relations with it (womb i.e. kith and kin), Allah will keep good relations with him, and whosoever will sever it Allah too will sever His relations with him. (Sahih Bukhari Vol.8)
A mother is most definitely superior in rights to a father – this is the beauty of motherhood, it raises a woman’s importance. This beautiful relationship is blessed with the only form of pure, unconditional love that you are going to get.
A man came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, who among the people is most deserving of my good companionship?’ He said, ‘Your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘Your mother.’ He asked, then who?’ He said, ‘Your mother.’ He asked, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘Your father.’
One Way Ticket To Heaven
Islam regards a mother as a one way ticket to Heaven! How could one not serve a woman so exalted as to win him/her merits of Paradise? She has been gifted by Allah such that our services to her – to care for her, to make her smile and to attend to her needs and obey her – would evict us of our sins.
The Prophet Muhammad said, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him: Your Heaven lies under the feet of your mother (Ahmad, Nasai).
A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him & his progeny) and said, "Messenger of Allah, I have committed a serious sin. Can I do any act of penitence?" He asked him if had a mother, and when he replied 'no', he asked if he had a maternal aunt. On his replying 'yes' he said, "Then do kindness to her."We cannot even begin to imagine the kind of pain a mother goes through in raising her child. As my own mother narrates, "From the day that she becomes pregnant, a woman bears pain."
Allah stresses in the holy Quran that a mother bears hardship for her child in giving him birth and then in raising him. And we could only understand these hardships when we become mothers ourselves InshAllah. And the miracle of motherhood is that a woman does not nag and complain when she stays the nights awake nursing her infant, when she bears the pain of breastfeeding him or when she attends to his dirt and filth.
Both parents have been entitled the highest respect and rights. Allah forbids in the holy Quran to even whisper a single word of disrespect towards your parents. It is one of the 70 major sins listed by Allah in the glorious Quran – to disrespect your parents.
Imagine how much we sin everyday? We find it convenient to back answer the woman who writhed in pain and still cried tears of happiness when she was giving us birth. We find it okay to disregard the man who nourished us and sheltered us when we were young and provided for our expenses and our character building.
A mother’s status is divine. If she commands you for something; provided it is not a sin, you are to obey as strictly as you obey you Allah. The stance of this woman has been glorified to such merits that if she forbids her son for holy struggle (Jihad), he is to obey because his first Jihad (as narrated by the holy prophet peace be upon him & his progeny) is towards his parents. A mother’s vows are to be honored even after her death!
It was reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that a woman from Juhaynah came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “My mother vowed to go for Hajj, but she died before she did so. Can I perform Hajj on her behalf?” He said, “Yes, perform Hajj on her behalf. Do you not think that if your mother owed a debt that you would pay it off for her? Fulfil her debt to Allaah, for Allaah is more deserving that what is owed to Him should be paid.” (narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1754).
Mother - The Shepherd of Allah's Flock
Mother - The Shepherd of Allah's Flock
A woman who has been blessed with motherhood is no longer an ordinary human being. She is now a woman of great responsibility and is more closer to Allah than she was before. As the words of the holy prophet (saw) go:
‘Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The imaam is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for his flock. A woman is the shepherd of her husband’s house and is responsible for her flock.’
Sometimes people find it very easy to scream back at their parents, especially mothers, to not interfere in their matters. They disregard the voice of Allah in the holy Quran which mentions that it is a responsibility of the parent to look after the kind of company their children keep since friends contribute towards building the personality. Our parents have the right to know whom we choose to be.
“A man will follow the way of his close friend, so let each of you look to who his close friends are.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2387; Abu Dawood, 4833. This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi and as saheeh by al-Nawawi, as stated in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 7/42).
Unfortunately, some of my Muslim friends choose to bond with the most wrongful of people – adulterers, drug-addicts, liars, etc. and they do not let their parents see the true colors of their friends circle. Alhamdulillah, I am very positive about the fact that I have always kept my mother aware of the true characteristics of the people in my environment. She knew the likes of everyone. And because of the insight that I provided her, she was able to look out for me – advising me which gatherings to attend and which ones to avoid. Of course I got called names by the social circle. ‘Mamma’s Baby’ was a very famous one! But I have always experienced that hiding something from my mother is as guilt-provoking as committing a sin in the darkness thinking I am hidden when I know Allah is watching me!
Dua’as For Parents
Mothers of the Faithful (Umm ul Momineen)
Their blessed names are:
Khadija
Sawdah
Aisha
Hafsa
Zainab
Umm Salama
