Mother is a woman who gives birth to a child or who has the responsibility of physical and emotional care for specific children. It is not simply a word; in fact it is a whole universe in itself. The major religions of the world command their followers to recognize the contributions of mothers to their families. Islam has raised the status of mothers to the highest level and serving your mother is not only an act of kindness but is also rewarded in Jannah. There are many verses of the Quran which talks about the rights of the mother. However, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has enjoined goodness to the mother. A man came for the advice to Prophet (PBUH) as to who should be treated well. He (PBUH) advised him to be good with mother. Three times the man asked, and three times Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told him to do good to his mother. At the fourth time, the Prophet (PBUH) told him to do good to his father. This illustrates the position of the mother in Islam. Allah has discussed about the two mothers in the Quran by name; Bibi Maryam, mother of Prophet Isa (A.S) and mother of Prophet Musa (A.S). Holy Quran mentions the incident of Maryam after the birth of Isa (A.S) when people started labeling her with the bad words. At a point, she wished to be dead. But Allah consoled her and told her not to grieve. Then she was given the dates and water. However, she was also ordered to take fast of not speaking for the three consecutive days. After three days, baby started speaking and it proved that Prophet Isa (A.S) was a miraculous baby(19:23-26) The other incident is related to Musa’s mother who was forced to put her child in the river but was simultaneously assured that the baby will be returned. Allah knew the love of mother for the child. The baby was picked up by Firwan’s wife from river, but baby refused to suck the milk of foster mother. So Musa’s sister suggested to try her mother, this united the child and mother back. (Surah Taha 37-40 and Surah Qasas 7-13). Holy Quran says about the parents (mother). Treat your parents with great kindness; if either or both of them attain old age, do not even say ‘uff’ to them; nor rebuke them; but speak to them kind words. Treat them with humility and tenderness and pray, “O our Lord, be merciful to them, just as they brought me up with kindness and affection in my childhood.” (Surah Bani Israel 23-24) The holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says about mother, (a) “Heaven lies beneath the feet of mothers”. (Prophet of Islam) (b) “To look affectionately and kindly at one’s father and mother is devotion.”(Prophet of slam) (c) “God’s satisfaction lies in the consent of parents, and His wrath in their wrath.” (Prophet of Islam) (d) “If you wish God to grant you a long life, make your parents happy.” (Imam Sadiq) (e) “Heaven lies beneath the feet of mothers.” If there is a question of jihad (holy war), those who are able to fight the infidels, must take part in the battle, but if a young man possesses all the qualifications for participation in the holy war, except that his mother does not allow him to go (on the condition that his non – participation causes no damage to the Muslims), he can abstain from participation in the war solely because of his mother’s prohibition, and decide to stay by her side. A man came to the Noble Prophet of Islam, saying: “O, prophet of Allah! I am young and vigorous, and ready for action and service, and wish to go to the battle-front for the advancement of Islam, but my mother does not let me leave her and go to war.” The Noble Prophet ·said: “Go and stay with your mother. I swear to the Allah Who chose me as prophet that the spiritual reward which you receive for serving her even one night and making her happy with your presence, is greater than a one-year long holy war.” Islam considers a respect for parents and observance of their rights to be the greatest duty of the people after the divine injunctions. The Quran says in this connection: “Be grateful to Me and to both your parents.” (31:14) Here Allah Almighty, immediately after referring to His own right, speaks about the right of parents. A man came to the Seal of the Prophets and said: “O Prophet of Allah! Guide me, to whom should I be good in order to benefit completely from my good deed?” He said: “Be good to your mother.” He asked: “Next to her?” The Prophet repeated: “Be good to your mother.” He said again: “And next to her?” The Prophet answered: “To your mother.” The man said: To what other person should be good?” The Prophet said: “To your father.” We are guided that, if your parents cause you uneasiness, you should not make them uneasy, and if they beat you up, you should not hurt them. You should pray for them and throw nothing but a look of kindness and affection at them. Your voice should never be raised above theirs, and you should never walk ahead of them. The fourth Imam says: “It is your mother’s right towards you that you should remember that she carried you in her womb for several months and nourished you with the sap of her life. She employed all her essence to keep and protect you. She did not care if she herself went hungry, while you were fed to satiety; or to go thirsty herself, while your thirst was quenched; or to have no clothes, while you were well-covered; or to stay in the hot sun, while you were sheltered; She ignored her sweet sleep and tolerated the pain of sleeplessness for your sake. She protected you against the heat of summer and cold of winter. She bore all that pain in order to have you, and you may have her. You should know that you are unable to thank your mother appropriately unless God helps you and grants you the favour and ability to repay her.” The rights which have been determined in Islam for a mother, and some examples of which have already been mentioned, are due to the pains she has borne in developing the life and body of her offspring, so that after tolerating such back-breaking pains, she may offer a well-bred human being to the society.
“The Most Common Parenting Challenges at present are Scarcity of Time, Failure in Imparting Moral Values, Imbalanced life and Lack of Emotional Bonding. Together, let’s honor the women who raised us—and all the mothers who sacrificed for their children!”
Naturally, only such a mother, who performs her motherly duties perfectly, and brings up a useful and competent individual with her overall efforts, can enjoy these rights. A mother who, for the sake of sell-indulgence or for the purpose of attending dance parties or centers of debauchery and nightly revelry, evades her duty of educating her offspring and puts him or her in charge of a nursery or kindergarten, is, in fact, committing an unpardonable injustice towards her offspring, and thus she cannot expect to benefit from a mother’s rights and position. In appearance, the life of children in a kindergarten is fine and pleasant. Their clothes are clean and pretty, their hair is well combed, their school is managed in accordance with hygienic rules, and the rooms are well-equipped and built with due regard to technical criteria. Their beds have clean sheets, and their food is prepared under a proper program. The children get sufficient playing time and timely sleep. In short, a great deal of their physical and psychological inclinations is satisfied. But there are also other emotions and desires in a child which the social environment of a kindergarten cannot satisfy. The particular caresses which create joy and exhilaration in a child can be provided only in a mother’s lap, not in a kindergarten. A child, living among a hundred other infants, has a non-independent life, and consequently he cannot acquire the personality and personal independence which are desired by a human being. At home, every movement and gesture of a child, and his play and laughter draw the attention of the parents. The child learns much from this attention, and gets much pleasure from it, whereas in the school environment, an infant, surrounded by a hundred other infants, resembles a wave breaking and disappearing amidst a hundred other waves. The mistake committed by the present-day society is to replace the family hearth and mother’s lap by kindergarten and elementary schools. The mothers who send their children to the nurseries in order to free themselves for undertaking office jobs, following their whims, engaging in their own literary and artistic activities or spending their time on playing bridge or going to movies, are actually extinguishing the family hearth where their children may learn many things. Such mothers do not only damage the happiness of their children, but also deal a blow on the body of the society, and furthermore they fail to benefit from such children. A child who has not learnt the lesson of affection from his mother, and his emotions are not boosted in her lap, cannot be expected to show affection in subsequent years. Mother’s Day is celebrated across the world, in more than 50 countries, though not all countries celebrate it on the same day. Countries that celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May include Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Belgium. In Mexico and many parts of Latin America, Mother’s Day is celebrated on May 10th of each year. In Thailand, it is celebrated on August 12th, the birthday of the current Queen. Every year, Mother’s Day is celebrated on second Sunday of May in this part of the world . That means Mother’s Day 2025 will fall on May 11. The Mother’s Day, a day to honor mothers is as old as human time. Festivals honoring mothers in ancient times were often tied to gods and goddesses. The Phrygians held a festival for Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods. The Greeks honored mothers with a festival for the goddess Rhea; the Romans continued the tradition. Even today, an important festival in India, Durga-puja, honors the goddess Durga. During the Middle Ages, people would return to their home or “mother” church once a year during the middle of Lent. Later, this day became Mothering Sunday. Children, mainly daughters who had gone to work as domestic servants, would be given the day off on the fourth Sunday of Lent to return to their mothers and home parish. As they traveled the country lanes, children would pick wildflowers to take to church or give to their mother as a small gift. It also became popular to bake a cake for Mothering Sunday. Mother’s Day in the United States mainly came through Anna M. Jarvis from Philadephia. After the death of her own beloved mother in 1905, in her honour she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration on May 10, 1908 at her late mother’s Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia, where Anna’s mother had taught. Jarvis lobbied for the creation of Mother’s Day throughout the country. On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May “Mother’s Day,” and within a few years, the idea gained worldwide prominence. My Mom and I have what we’ve always kind of called “our psychic connection” because it always seems like she will call me when I’ve been thinking of her a lot that day, or I’ll call her and she’ll say she’d been thinking of me. The greatest love is a mother’s. Some of my happiest memories are talking to mother about elder people and the ways they used to treat others. She also encouraged me to discuss religion, science and humanity. I am glad to have had lessons, not only because I discovered how to behave with different people and practice sabr but also learned a lot from my mother about treatment of different ailments via plant medicine. The Most Common Parenting Challenges at present are Scarcity of Time, Failure in Imparting Moral Values, Imbalanced life and Lack of Emotional Bonding. Together, let’s honor the women who raised us—and all the mothers who sacrificed for their children! Of course, if YOU are a mother, wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day! Mother’s day 2025 was more than just a calendar event-it is an emotional reminder of the unconditional love and quiet strength that mothers embody. May Allah bless our parents with good health, righteous happy long life and highest place in Jannah…. Aameen!
(The author is Professor Statistics at S K University Of Agriculture Sciences & Technology-SKUAST, Kashmir. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
Dr. Bilal A Bhat
[email protected]
