Exalted status of mother

Apart from her role as a wife, the Muslim woman has a very important role as mother. The status and value attached to parents in the Muslim world is very high. A woman becomes complete when she becomes a mother. Enjoying her power of creativity and grade of superiority over man, she experiences those precious feelings and senses, which nature gives only to woman. There is no doubt that as a mother, she is superior to man and is the nucleus of her family! Qur’an says:“And your Lord has commanded that you shall not serve (any) but Him, and goodness to your parents. If either or both of them reach old age with you, say not to them (so much as) “Ugh” nor chide them, and speak to them a generous word. And make yourself submissively gentle to them with compassion, and say: O my Lord! Have compassion on them, as they brought me up (when I was) little.” (17:23-24)One day a man came to see the Prophet Muhammad. It seemed that he was trying to solve something but couldn’t quite work it out. So he asked the Prophet Muhammad. “Tell me, O Prophet of Allah! I have many relatives and many friends whom I love, and whom I wish to care for and help. But I often find it difficult to decide which of them has the greatest claim upon me? Which of them should come first?” The Prophet Muhammad replied immediately, “Your mother should come first and before all others.” The man was very pleased to have this clear guidance from the Prophet Muhammad. But of course there were all his other relatives and his friends, so he asked again: “And after my mother, who has the greatest claim upon me?” The Prophet Muhammad’s, reply this second time surprised him. “Your mother!” he said again. The man wondered why the Prophet Muhammad, was repeating himself. Perhaps he had not spoken clearly, the man thought, so he asked the question again, “What I want to know is, after my mother, who has the greatest claim upon me? Again the Prophet Muhammad said “your mother!”The Prophet Muhammad had now said it three times. Slowly, the man realized why he had done so. The Prophet Muhammad means that my mother is extremely important, so much so that my duty to her must be stressed over and over again. Even so, the man’s thoughts ran on, “what about all the others I love and wish to care for?” Still uncertain and wanting to know more, he once again turned to the Prophet Muhammad and said “and after my mother, who comes after her? Is there anyone besides her?” The Prophet Muhammad then replied “after your mother, your father.” And then, asked the man. “Then people who are nearest to you,” said the Prophet Muhammad. In universal religion Islam, mother has three times more rights over her off springs than their father because of her significant and crucial role in their birth, brought-up and home education. In another hadith the Prophet Muhammad has said: “Paradise lies at the feet of mothers.” In other words Paradise awaits those who cherish and respect their mothers.The Muslim mother has consequently a great feeling of security about the type of care and consideration she can expect from her children when she reaches old age. As the verse of Noble Qur’an quoted above indicates, thankfulness to parents is linked with thankfulness to Allah, and a failure in either of these respects is indeed a major failure in one’s religious duties.The principles of Islam made explicit in Noble Qur’an and hadith are belief and good conduct, and good conduct begins at home with one’s closest relatives. A Westerner who has had close contact with a Muslim society cannot fail to be struck by the love and respect given to parents and the honour shown to old people in general, both men and women, as a direct application of these principles of Islam.