~ A Mother’s Love ~

So there was this young man about twenty years old (let’s call him Jamal). Jamal was approached by a salesman, Adam, who offered Jamal one hundred thousand dollars (or dinars) for his mother’s heart (whether it is figurative or literal we do not know).

Jamal, with dollar signs in his eyes and greed in his heart, took the offer to be literal and went home right away and with a dagger claimed the life of his mother and tore out her heart and hurriedly started back towards the marketplace to find the salesman. On his way to the marketplace, Jamal tripped on some pebbles and as he fell down he dropped his mother’s heart and it got all dirty with the dust from the ground. After he fell, a soft voice came from within the heart and said: “O my son, are you alright?”

Startled, Jamal realized what he had done and started crying. He cried so much that the tears from his eyes rolled down his cheeks and with those tears the dirt on the heart was wiped clean. Jamal, now desperate, wanted a way out of the major sin he had just committed. He picked up his dagger and pulled it up and was about to take his own life. Suddenly, the same soft voice came out a second time from the heart. This time it stated: “O my son, do not kill me twice.”

This story definitely symbolizes a mother’s love for her child. The Quran and Sunnah show the importance of one’s parents. Quranic verses:

1. “We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents; in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth”. (46:15)

2. “Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: ‘My Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood’” (17:23-24).

3.. “We have enjoined on man and woman kindness to parents; but if they (either of them) strive (to force) thee to join with Me anything of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not’” .(29:8).

4..“We have enjoined on man and woman (to be good) to his/her parents; show gratitude to Me and to thy parents; to Me is (thy final) Goal. If they (parents) strive to make thee join in worship with Me things of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not; yet bear them company in this life with justice (and consideration) and follow the way of those who turn to Me (in love)” (31:14-15).

The fourth verse listed is something we need to take seriously (including myself). Insha’Allah, we should never get angry or raise our voices with our parents. I saw this cool billboard about moms. It read something like “She doesn’t love because she’s tough. She’s tough because she loves.” I think that statement hits it right home. A few hadith talking about mothers (and fathers) are:

1. A man came to Rasulullah (SAW) and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship?Rasulullah (SAW) said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ Rasulullah (SAW) said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’Rasulullah (SAW) said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ Rasulullah (SAW) said: Then your father.

(Bukhari, Muslim).

2. Abu Usaid Saidi said: We were once sitting with Rasulullah (SAW) when a man from the tribe of Salmah came and said to him: O Messenger of Allah! do my parents have rights over me even after they have died? And Rasulullah said: Yes. You must pray to Allah to bless them with His Forgiveness and Mercy, fulfill the promises they made to anyone, and respect their relations and their friends

(Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah).

3. Abdullah ibn Amr related that Rasulullah (SAW) said: The major sins are to believe that Allah has partners, to disobey one’s parents, to commit murder, and to bear false witness

(Bukhari, Muslim).

4. Rasulullah (SAW) said, “Be at your mother’s feet and there is the Paradise.”

(Ibn Majah)

Insha’Allah, we can all benefit from these verses and hadith so that we can be more beneficial to our parents. Insha’Allah, we should definitely try to keep our parents in all of our du’as whether they are alive or deceased. In closing, just ask yourself when was the last time you told your mother that you loved her (without it being a response to her saying it first to you!).