O humankind! Be in awe of your Lord and Sustainer, He who created you all from a single soul, and created from it its mate, and from the two of them brought forth many men and women. Be in awe of Allah and of the wombs (that bore you). Surely Allah is watching over you. Surah an-Nisa, ayat 1
SubhanAllah the last few weeks have been an interesting time for me as my mother has undergone some major heart surgery. Essentially she had her heart removed and modified with the addition of a metal valve, while a machine breathed for her. Otherwise known as valve replacement surgery.
Through this fitna she has experiences some major pain, and has left me and my siblings feeling well and truly helpless, but yet also led us to appreciate and ponder, what an amazing creation of Allah the mother is, and why he has given her this noble status. As throughout the book, we find Ar Rahman makes the link with giving thanks to him and then to our mother, as in the opening ayat or our parents in general, for example;
And We have enjoined on the human being in (regard to) his two parents – his mother bore him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning was two years – Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is the goal.Surah Luqman, ayat 14
Yet how soon we forget. Living in the west, even as Muslims, it seems that mothers day syndrome has crept into our hearts and our parents have fallen from grace, all but for one day. Unfortunately, many of us know the famous hadith reported in Tirmidhi;
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “
Paradise is at the feet of the mother.”
Yet we forget. Many Muslims have fallen into the innovation of mothers day and many have not even the care for a single day, ergo their parents are nothing but, ‘has-beens’. But how, what happened? What went wrong?
The answer to this I gather will be similar to most things relating to the Muslims today, and seems to be a product of our distance from the book and the sunnah, but either way, it’s a bizarre situation.
I am currently in the UK, fighting between going back to my studies in Misr and providing my mother the much needed aftercare major surgery involves, at the moment, its aftercare hands down, but subhanAllah, the fact it’s a debate in my mind, suggests, just how much one can become influenced by ‘me-me’ syndrome and loose sight of the major things, such as our parents.
I recently spoke to someone who is also caring for their parent, and they said something which really stuck, and they said, take this opportunity, as it is a matter of time, before it escapes. SubhanAllah, this was a sweet reminder for me and has forced my return to the book of Allah to explore this amazing station my mother, like yours, has.
I am going to go now, take my mum some strawberries and give my mum a kiss on her forehead, and I would advise you all, who can, to do the same. If you have some distance between you and your parents, pick up the phone and if the distance is that which comes from the angel of death, then raise your hands in dua or give some charity for your parents, and most of all your mother. I leave you with some sweet words;
It is the right of your mother that you should appreciate that she carried you [in her womb] as nobody carries anybody, and fed you the fruits of her heart which nobody feeds anybody, and protected you [during pregnancy] with her ears, hands, legs, hair, limbs, [in short] with her whole being, gladly, cheerfully and carefully; suffering patiently all the worries, pains, difficulties and sorrows [of pregnancy], till the hand of God removed you from her and brought you into this world.”“Then she was most happy feeding you, even if she herself had no clothes; giving you milk and water; not caring for her own thirst; keeping you in the shade, even if she had to suffer from the heat of the sun; giving you every comfort with her own hardship; lulling you to sleep while keeping herself awake.”“And [remember that] her womb was your abode, and her lap your refuge, and her breast your feeder, and her whole existence your protection; it was she, not you, who was braving the heat and cold of this world for your safety.”“Therefore, you must remain thankful to her accordingly, and you cannot do so except by the help and assistance from Allah.”
