Parents

With the name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Very Merciful.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said in an authentic hadith that ,"Jannah(Paradise) lies undeneath the feet of mothers". We should realise that having a loving mother is amongst the best gifts we can get from Allah. No matter what we do, we can never repay the the favors they have done for us and are still doing today. We may serve our mother for our whole life but this will not be enough to repay the first scream she led out when she was giving birth to us.

Alhamdullilah, today I'm writing this article by Allah's mercy upon me and also by the help of my mother, mashallah she is the best a son can ask. My mother alhumdullilah is not just concerned for my worldly affairs but most importantly, by Allah's will she is responsible for the very little knowledge that I have today. She strives everyday to try and help me on the right path.

My brothers and sisters we should realise that a person can get everything but nothing can replace a mum. A good loving mother will do anything to make her children happy and also help them achieve the benefits of the hereafter and this world. Once a sahabi came to the Prophet(peace be upon him) and asked who should we love the most (after Allah and His Prophet peace be upon him). The beloved of Allah (peace be upon him) said your mother, and the sahabi asked this question again and three times the Prophet peace be upon him said your mother. Then on the fourth time then he (peace be upon him) said your father. This shows the importance a mother holds in Islam. My brothers and sisters coming from experience, amongst the best feelings you can have is knowing that your parents are happy with you and amongst the worst feelings is knowing that your parents are displeased with us.

But the unfortunate thing nowadays is that we don't know the value of our mum. If you want to know the value of a mother, ask someone who has lost their mother. My brothers and sisters, just by looking at your mum and smiling at her is one the best deeds you can do and now imagine the rewards you will get by making her happy! Unfortunately nowadays we make other people happy but not our mum.. We should always be good to our parents, show kindness to them and speak to them with a soft voice and always do our best to make them happy. We should know if our Allah and our mum is happy with us then inshallah we are edging towards the ultimate success. We should learn to control our temper when we talk to them, it may be that we don't like something she said to us, but we should keep quiet and be patient. We should realise that the happiness of our mum and dad may be the cause of us entering Jannah (Paradise).

The following story shows you the importance a mother holds; "During the funeral of his mother, Al Harith Al-Akli(radiallahuanhu) weeped.When asked the reason the reasons of his tears, he said, why should I not cry when one of my doors doors to Paradise has now closed".

We should always be kind to our parents but its unfortunate we are not. We should not despair from the mercy of Allah but we should rather make dua that Allah makes us amongst the ones who our parents are happy with . The happiness of your mother will bring you success Inshallah.

I make dua that Allah make our parents happy with us and grants us Jannah. Also my brothers and sisters a kind request, can you please make dua for my mother as she has on operation. Jazakallah

Parents

One of the most gravest sins ever is disobedience to our parents, therefore, as difficult it may seem at times, young Muslims should take time out to help our mothers and fathers out first, before we help our friends and most certainly ourselves. In many ahadith the value of the mother is given and I will be discussing them further below. Allah has created us through our parents and we must remember that one day, most of us will too have children and become good Muslim fathers and mothers.

Parents in light of the Qur'an.

"And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour. " Surah Isra, verse 23.

This ayah of the Qur'an shows us that with worshipping Allah, you have to be "dutiful" or help to your parents. The Qur'an then gives us a direct order on how to address them when they are old, and how much we should show respect for them once they are old. Youth and I include myself, sometimes forget the pain of parenthood and childbirth, but we cannot payback our parents for countless sleepless nights, one of the few ways we can show appreciation is through helping them when they are old and fragile.

" And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years — give thanks to Me and to your parents, unto Me is the final destination" Surah Luqmaan, verse 14

Allah poses another direct order to us and again reminds the Mu'mineen about the suffering caused by our mothers during the whole period of her looking after us. Allah then goes on to say how we should give thanks to him, but then as importantly give thanks and appreciation to the parents.

Parents in light of the Hadith

Paradise lies under the feet of your mother.
It not a coincidence that the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) said this, to think that a mother has to go through much grief during pregnancy, childbirth and tarbiyah that there must be a reward for him. Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) realised with guidance from Allah that Jannah is a place where all the hardships of the world come to an end and a life of blissful happiness begins, a place where everyone shall be rewarded by their actions, and what is more beloved by Allah then to see one creation (a mother/father) raising a child up in a good, respected and a Muslim way.

A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your father. (Bukhari, Muslim).

The Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) recognises that the mother is probably the single most important figurehead in a family. The importance they have of being the first teacher a child ever has, for example, teaching a child to walk, we are not born knowing how to walk, we are taught it and most of us by our mothers, that could mean everytime we do a little or major act, it is simply down to them, when you go to the fridge if it wasnt for your mother teaching you, some people would not even be able to do that. The reply of "your mother" was done three times so we must remember the importance they have in our lives and the father was too mentioned, showing we should give both parents respect and our whole hearts to them.

Let us not find ourselves in the rising culture where most youths disregard what our parents say and we should remind ourselves the rights they have over us. One day when we are mothers and fathers we dont want to be in a position that we remember how bad we treated our parents but rather how we should them love, respect and honour they fully deserve. By us being good to our parents inshaAllah we too will have children who will look after us with the same love we had.

May Allah guide us all and protect us, and help us show kindness to our parents.

Ameen