Having covered a long list of boons of Allah which we need to be grateful for, from Islamic or religious favours to materialistic bounties, we now move on to something else which we all need to be grateful for……….And that is for the bounty of the people around us.

Solitude or solitary confinement is not a pleasant thing and in many cases it is even used as a form of punishment. A prisoner is sent to prison where he is supposed to remain in isolation and away from people. Even Samiri who tricked the Bani Israel into worshipping the calf was given the punishment of solitude.

قَالَ فَٱذْهَبْ فَإِنَّ لَكَ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ أَن تَقُولَ لَا مِسَاسَ ۖ وَإِنَّ لَكَ مَوْعِدًا لَّن تُخْلَفَهُۥ ۖ وَٱنظُرْ إِلَىٰٓ إِلَـٰهِكَ ٱلَّذِى ظَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ عَاكِفًا ۖ لَّنُحَرِّقَنَّهُۥ ثُمَّ لَنَنسِفَنَّهُۥ فِى ٱلْيَمِّ نَسْفًا
Moosa (AS) said: “Then go away! And verily, your (punishment) in this life will be that you will say. Touch me not’ (i.e. you will live alone exiled away from mankind); and verily (for a future torment), you have a promise that will not fail. And look at your Ilah (god), to which you have been devoted. We will certainly burn it, and scatter its particles in the sea.” [Surah 20: 97]

There are many people around us who bring fulfilment to our life and we certainly need to be grateful for them, and who better to start with, other than ones mother!

Islam has most definitely afforded great rights to mothers specifically, and to parents in general as both are held in very high esteem in the faith. There are verses in the Quraan and Hadith that emphasize the burdens that a mother carries and the respect that should be accorded to her.

The verses of the Quraan that address the mother emphasize the difficulties of pregnancy, labour, and breastfeeding and the need to respect one’s mother. These verses many times mention parents in general but go into detail in regard to the mother because she faces challenges that a father does not. Verse 15 from chapter 46 illustrates this point.

وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۖ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ كُرْهًا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا ۖ وَحَمْلُهُۥ وَفِصَـٰلُهُۥ ثَلَـٰثُونَ شَهْرًا
And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [Surah 46:15]

This verse begins with a command for both parents but goes into detail in regards to the mother and the difficulties she endures. The command to treat parents with kindness means to treat them with respect under all circumstances, to obey them unless it goes against an edict of the faith, and to care for them in old age as they cared for you as a child.

How a Muslim should treat their parents, especially the mother, is further underscored in the hadith. There are many instances that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ commanded believers to respect their mothers.

جاء رجل إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال‏:‏ يا رسول الله من أحق الناس بحسن صحابتي‏؟‏ قال‏:‏ ‏”‏ أمك‏”‏ قال‏:‏ ثم من‏؟‏ قال‏:‏ ‏”‏ أمك‏”‏ قال‏:‏ ثم من‏؟‏ قال‏:‏ ‏”‏أمك‏”‏ قال‏:‏ ثم من‏؟‏ قال‏:‏ ‏”‏ أبوك‏”‏ ‏(‏‏(‏متفق عليه‏)‏‏)‏‏.‏
A person came to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and asked, “Who among people is most deserving of my fine treatment?” He (ﷺ) said, “Your mother”. He again asked, ”Who next?” “Your mother”, the Prophet (ﷺ) replied again. He asked, “Who next?” He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said again, “Your mother.” He again asked, “Then who?” Thereupon he (ﷺ) said,” Then your father.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ جَاهِمَةَ السُّلَمِيِّ، أَنَّ جَاهِمَةَ، جَاءَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَغْزُوَ وَقَدْ جِئْتُ أَسْتَشِيرُكَ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏”‏ هَلْ لَكَ مِنْ أُمٍّ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ نَعَمْ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏”‏ فَالْزَمْهَا فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ تَحْتَ رِجْلَيْهَا ‏”‏
It was narrated from Mu’awiyah bin Jahimah As-Sulami that Jahimah came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: “O Messenger of Allah! I want to go out and fight (in Jihad) and I have come to ask your advice.” He said: “Do you have a mother?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “Then stay with her, for Paradise is beneath her feet.” [Sunan an-Nasa’i 3104]

It is the right of your mother that you should appreciate that she carried you [in her womb] the way nobody carries anybody, she fed you the fruits of her heart which nobody feeds anybody. She protected you [during pregnancy] with her ears, eyes, hands, legs, hair, limbs, [in short] with her whole being, gladly, cheerfully, and carefully; suffering patiently all the worries, pains, difficulties, and sorrows. Till Allah removed you from her and brought you into this world. Then she was most happy, feeding you whilst forgetting her own hunger, clothing 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 hardships; lulling you to sleep while keeping herself awake.

So let us be grateful to Allah for our mothers whom we not even allowed to say “uf” to, and let us endeavour to serve them in the best way possible.