WHAT IS THE POSITION OF OUR MOTHERS IN ISLAM?

Last week, we discussed the role of children towards their mothers and today, we aim to provide a reminder of why children do what they do wholeheartedly. Women especially our mothers are placed at a high position in our beloved religion, Islam and particularly our lives that cannot be matched nor replaced. 

A mother is a blessing and every child in a happy or sad moment in their life, after Allah, they will call out her name. Each mother loves her child unconditionally and the relationship between them is reciprocal where we are at the service, love, respect and obedient towards them.

The honour and status of our mothers can be emphasised in the following verse:
 
“And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], “uff,” and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word. And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, “My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.”

[Quran, Surah Isra, 23-24]

The phrase 'mercy' in Arabic is 'Rahma' and 'womb' is 'Rahm' and is one of the 99 attributes of Allah Al-Rahman which is `Most Merciful'. Mercy should be applied to every action. 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said
"The Most Merciful shows mercy to those who have mercy on others. Show mercy to those on earth, and the One above the heaven will show mercy to you."
[Al-Tirmidhi 1924] 

As we grow older, the importance of our mothers in our lives is vital more and more and hold such value because Islam teaches us to not neglect the women in our lives whether she is a mother, daughter, sister or wife. I have never seen any Act nor policy that holds such emphasis on mothers nor women as much as Islam teaches about equality and love and respect towards them.

Even when we have served our mothers throughout our life, we will be forever indebted even one contraction as mentioned in the following narration:

Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah have mercy upon him) saw a Yemeni man performing Tawaf and carrying his mother on his back. The man approached him and asked Abdullah,
'I am like a tame camel for her! I have carried her more than she carried me. Do you think I have paid her back, oh ibn Umar ?' 
Abdullah replied: 'No, not even one contraction' 
[AL-Adab Al-Mufrad Al-Bukhari, 1/62]

Why is it compared to a contraction? 

Our mothers bore the pain and are described as menstrual cramps, back pain and broken bones according to a few anesthesiological studies. 

The status and position of the mother are so important that they are our first teachers who teach us right from wrong and develop us.  Islam teaches us to have reverence for them as Paradise is under our mothers' feet encouraging us further to serve our parents.

Mu’awiyah ibn Jahima (may Allah mercy upon them) reported: Jahima came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he said:
 “O Messenger of Allah, I intend to join the expedition and I seek your counsel.” The Prophet said, “Do you have a mother?” He said yes. The Prophet said, “Stay with her, for Paradise is beneath her feet.”
[al-Nasai, 3104]

Thus, our mothers are positioned in Islam at a high place, what is their role in the community and society? This will be discussed next week.