A Mother in Islam

By Adil Khan

Critics of Islam love to accuse it of denying women equal rights. I will address all those who make such accusatory claims using the very teachings of Islam itself. I will frame my arguments specifically in the light of this past
Mother’s Day, Sunday May 8th.

Let me first of all say that I am a proud Ahmadi Muslim, a follower of True Islam (Trueislam.com),  and of the True and only Caliph of this time, His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may God Strengthen his hands) (http://www.khalifaofislam. com/). And although I personally believe that every day is Mother’s Day–and that it is totally wrong to single out only one day to show affection to your mother–I am happy to say that I spent around two hours making tiramisu (not to mention the time it took to go out and get ingredients), my mother’s favorite dessert from scratch for her and my family to enjoy.

In the Holy Qur’an, which to a true Muslim is the very life blood that flows through their body without which they cannot stay alive, God Almighty states, “Worship God and join not any partners with Him; and be kind to your parents…” (4:37). It is absolutely essential for every Muslim to treat his or her parents with the utmost kindness and respect as God has placed kindness to parents with commandment for his worship in this verse. It further states that “Thy Lord has commanded, “Worship none but Him, and show kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age with thee, never say unto them any word expressive of disgust nor reproach them, but address them with excellent speech. And lower to them the wing of humility out of tenderness. And say, ‘My Lord, have mercy on them even as they nourished me in my childhood” (17:24-25).

Who has better nourished you in your childhood than your mother? The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him (pbuh), the Leader and Master of all True Muslims, stated, “Heaven lies under the feet of your mother”. This further highlights the special status of mothers in Islam that teaches love, respect, and honor for mothers as a means of salvation.

In regards to Compensation for mother Hadhrat Abdulla-Bin Umar once saw a Yemenite doing Tawaf of Holy Ka’aba with his mother on his back. Seeing Hadhrat Abdullah he asked that had he not compensated for the rights of his mother? Hadhrat Abdullah replied that it was not the compensation even for a single birth pang of his mother.

A person once came to My Master (pbuh) and asked، “O Holy Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of God be upon him) who is the most deserving of good treatment treatment from me?” My Master (pbuh) replied, “Your mother”. The person then asked, “Who next?”, to which he received the same reply. After he had repeated this question for the fourth time, my Master (pbuh) then finally replied, “Your father”.

True Muslims reap the benefit of this wisdom of their Master (pbuh) in spite of the fact that his own mother passed away when her son (pbuh) was only six years old! Indeed any fair and truly open-minded person will be able to reap infinite benefits by following the words of Muhammad (pbuh). With such beautiful teachings as this it is no wonder that any true Muslim loves him (pbuh) more than their own mother.

The critics of Islam who follow a backwards conception of what it means to honor women should take a look at themselves in the mirror and ask if they do even the smallest fraction of honor to their mothers that My Master (pbuh), who lost his own mother in childhood, mandated for all of his followers. If they have any hint of truth inside of them, then I know they would be thoroughly disgusted by their own reflections. I am of course referring to the objectification of women in society, the widespread pushes towards immodesty which are to be found wherever one looks, misunderstanding of gender roles, as well as the degradation of the healthy family unit among many other issues. However it is doubtful that they are willing to bear witness against themselves. Muslims on the other hand are commanded to do so by God in the Holy Qur’an. A person who follows this commandment, amongst many others of the Qur’an, will definitely make sure to do complete honor to their mother in any and every way.