Helping Your Mother

By Ni'mah Ali

Bismillah

Islam encourages all good things and prohibits every evil and bad thing. One of the most beloved actions to Allah is helping and being good to one’s parents, especially the mother. When Allah discusses something in the Quran, that means whatever is being discussed is something very important. Allah enjoins us to be dutiful and good to our parents in numerous verses of the Quran. Furthermore, Allah says in this particular ayah,

“And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years -- give thanks to Me and to your parents.” (Surah Luqmam 31:14)

There are two very important statements which stand out the most in this verse--the hardships and weakness a mother goes through during pregnancy and labor and being thankful to Allah and to ones’ parents. Allah doesn’t just tell us to be dutiful and good to our parents, He shows us why we should be thankful and dutiful to our parents especially our dear mothers by explaining in detail the hardships a mother goes through. Allah in that verse also tells us of the importance of parents by giving parents the second spot on those who are most deserving of being thanked after Him, subhanAllah! That is just amazing and says a lot to us.

There are a lot more verses in the Quran which are just like the above mentioned verse, that Allah says be thankful to Him and to be thankful to your parents. Thus Allah has placed mothers and fathers on a high level. When Allah the all mighty has honored our parents this way, what do you think our dear Prophets advices would be concerning our parents and especially our mothers?! The prophet saAllahu l alayhi wa sallam has told us of the great reward there is in helping our mothers so much so that he even put it above Jihad. Let’s take a look at some of the famous hadiths of Prophet Mohamed mentioning the importance of the mother.

In this hadith narrated by our mother Aisha, The Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wasilla said, "the word 'Ar-Rahm' (womb) derives its name from 'Ar-Rahman' (i.e. Allah). So whosoever keeps good relations with it (womb i.e. kith and kin), Allah will keep good relations with him, and whosoever will sever it (i.e. severs his bonds of kith and kin) Allah too will sever His relations with him (Sahih Bukhari Vol. 8 : No. 18 Narrated by Aisha )."

In another hadith--I’m sure most Muslims know or have heard of this hadith, highlights the importance of the mother; Abu Huraira says a man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man said. "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man further said, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked for the fourth time, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your father." Dear reader just look at this encouragement from our Prophet salalaahu alayhi wassallam. There’s a reason why the Prophet repeatedly said your mother.

Our mothers put us first instead of themselves. A mother thinks of her child before she eats or drinks, she makes sure her child is well-fed and happy before she even thinks about eating. When a mother sees something nice guess who she thinks of first to get that nice thing for, herself? Of course not, she thinks of her daughter or her son. She wants to give her child the best of everything and if she could she would give him/her the world. A mothers’ heart cannot find rest even for a minute while her child is sick, she stays up all night with a worried heart, trying everything in her power to make her child feel better. Why shouldn’t you want to help your mother when she went through not only the challenges and struggles of pregnancy and labor with you, but of raising you, paying for you education, and putting all of her energy to raise you to be the best you can possibly be. Your mother is most deserving of your help. She deserves your help without her asking for it. Our mothers need to be honored, respected and most importantly they need to be helped with whatever they need help with when they need it and for how ever long they need it. Helping her in this world only is not enough. We must help our mothers by asking Allah to forgive their sins, mistakes and shortcomings. This is the best help a daughter/son can give to his/her mother. Allah tells us to say,

“My Lord! Bestow on them Your mercy as they did bring me up when I was young .” (Al Isra 17:23)

May Allah forgive our dear mothers. May Allah bless them and shower them with His mercy, and may Allah always help our mothers for Allah can provide the best of help.

Sources: 
http://www.muhajabah.com/mom.htm; 
http://etori.tripod.com/on-mothers.html; 
http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php

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