Mother: The Epitome of Sacrifice
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Mother: The Epitome of Sacrifice

The mother, as such, becomes the medium through which the Lord of the Worlds showers His mercy on His creation in an uninterrupted manner

Post by on Tuesday, June 7, 2022

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 “Who deserves my service and respect the most, O prophet of God,” asked one of his Companions to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). “Your mother,” replied the Prophet (SAW). The answer was same when the Companion repeated the question three times! It was on the fourth time that the Prophet (SAW) said that it was his father who deserved to be treated with utmost care and respect after his mother. (Riyad al-Salihin, 316). In the common parlance and in the simplest language, it is often said that the first three prizes (gold, silver and bronze) go straight away to the mother. The father has to show contentment on the consolation prize!

However, the wise counsel of the Prophet (SAW) is loaded with the wisdom which carries the experience of millennia together borne out not only by the precedents of the whole chain of Prophets from Adam (‘AS) to Muhammad (SAW), but it is the heritage of the whole humanity representing the familial bonds based on love, respect and honour for nurturing the first unit of society, that is, the family. The emphasis of the Prophet (SAW) for showing consideration to the mother does in no way carry any sign vis-à-vis the polarity between genders which modern age is wrought with and it distinguishes itself for. And, it could not have been so, because being the “repository of divine wisdom” the Prophet (SAW) knew what kind of hardship and trouble a mother passes through before, during and after she is gifted with the child.

In this regard, the Qur’an has given a vivid picture of all the process which a mother goes through to become the medium of humanity’s sustenance on the planet earth. “We have commanded people to honour their parents. Their mothers bore them in hardship and delivered them in hardship. Their period of bearing and weaning is thirty months,” read the words of God. (46:15) The hardship which the Qur’an talks of is not only biological and mechanic (physical), but it is psychological and sentimental a well. It is this hardship which makes womb, lap and cradle the constituents of the laboratory and nursery for nurturing the humankind.

However, it is the emotional attachment of the mother with her child by dint of which she stands at the pedestal of sacrifice and perseverance for bringing the child up. By not demanding anything for herself, the mother renders a yeoman (selfless) service to the humankind. This rearing, which needs utmost care, would have been lacking had the humans being grown like fruits by trees or by some other means. The pains which the parents especially the mother takes and the trouble which she goes through results in the formation of new building blocks for the society in the form of capable humans beings which then constitute the “generation next”. This contribution on the part of the mother towards the society is actually the manifestation of the mercy and love which her heart is laden with and which she pours out for the benefit of the society at large.

The mother, as such, becomes the medium through which the Lord of the Worlds showers His mercy on His creation in an uninterrupted manner. This is how a saying of the Prophet (SAW) has described this love and mercy: “Allah has one hundred parts [that is 100%] of mercy, of which He sent down one [part] between the jinn, mankind, the animals and the insects, by means of which they are compassionate and merciful to one another, and by means of which [even] wild animals are kind to their offspring. And Allah has kept back [with Himself] ninety-nine parts of mercy with which to be merciful to His slaves on the Day of Resurrection.” (Muslim, 6908). Moreover, the Prophet (SAW) is also reported to have said that “Allah is more merciful to His servants than a mother to her child.” (Bukhari, 5653)

Such is the resemblance shown and exhibited by the parents to their offspring with the mercy of God that God has commanded the offspring to be considerate to their parents “as the latter had showered their mercy on them!” This is how the Qur’an “jointly” explains the mercy of the “Merciful Lord” and the “mercy-oriented care” of the parents: “Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and be good to your parents. Whether one or both of them reach old age with you, do not say to them a word of annoyance and do not repel them; but rather speak to them a noble word. Lower to them the wing of humility, out of mercy, and say: My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [with mercy] when I was small.” (17:24)

As such, the parents work as the “outposts” of God’s mercy on earth. However, it is through the mother that this mercy manifests itself so much so that she becomes the “mercy manifest”! As the mercy becomes the life blood of her being, she gets motivation to sacrifice everything for her child, caring very little for herself. This attitude has been explained by the Prophet (SAW) in these words: “Allah created mercy in one hundred parts and He retained with Him ninety-nine parts, and He has sent down upon the earth one part, and it is because of this one part that there is mutual love among the creation so much so that the animal lifts its hoof from its young one, fearing that it might harm him.” (Muslim, 6629)

Nevertheless, in the march on the path of Truth (al-Haqq), parents have to be the harbingers of this Truth brought to the world through the Prophets of God. And, if the parents, God forbid, become the partisans of Falsehood, then one has to “ideologically” part ways with them without cutting the bond of service, respect and sincerity with them. This is necessary, because on the Day of Judgment, one would be accountable before the Lord all alone severing his ties with his “brother, mother, father, companion and offspring!” Yes, one would get re-united with one’s “parents, companion and offspring” in case they too would have followed “the Truth” (al-Haqq)!

 

(Author is Assistant Professor Islamic Studies at GDC Kokernag.                                                                              Email: alhusain5161@gmail.com)

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