Islam Cares For The Woman As A Mother (3/3)

Islamic teachings warn against disobeying parents, disrespecting them and not fulfilling their financial rights. Abu-Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him), reported of Allah's Apostle as saying: “The punishment for all worldly sins may be deferred until the Judgment Day by Allah except for the sin of disobedience of children to their parents. This sin's punishment shall be imposed during the lifetime of man and not deferred until later.”[1]

Allah's Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was also reported as saying: “Verily, Allah has forbidden you to disobey your mothers, to prevent people from their entitlements, and to ask people for what you are not entitled; He has further forbidden burying your baby-girls while they are alive. He, also dislikes for you to say: "Other people said so and so." He, also, has forbidden you to continuously ask others to give you; or to question everything you see; or to waste your wealth for no meaningful reason.”[2]

Allah's Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) illustrated that being good and kind to parents is essential in the fulfillment of the supplications and prayers of man throughout his life. Ibn 'Omar (may Allah be pleased with him), reported the Prophet as saying: “Three men in the previous times set out on a business trip. When night approached they slept in a cave at the bottom of a mountain. Upon entering the cave, a boulder rolled down and closed the cave's entrance completely. They talked it over and concluded that there was no way out of this trouble except with prayers and supplications.'We had better seek the help of Allah according to the best and most righteous deeds we have done in our lives.'

The first man said: 'O Allah! I had two elderly parents whom I never offered my wife and children anything to eat or drink before I offer them. One day I had to go for a long distance seeking food for my herd and I was late coming back. Upon arrival I found both of my parents asleep. I milked the sheep in order to offer my parents their dinner but I hated to wake them up to drink. However, I did not offer my wife or children before I offered them. I remained standing next to them carrying the milk pot in my hand waiting for them to wake up. At the break of day, they woke up, by that time my children were at my feet crying for milk. At that time, they woke up and I offered them their milk. O Allah! If you know that I have done that for Your sake, please salvage us from this trouble that we are suffering.' Upon that the rock was moved slightly away from the cave's entrance, but it was not enough to let a man out.

The second man said: 'O Allah! I had a female cousin from my father's side who was the most beloved woman to me on the face of Earth. I wanted her very badly to make love to me, but she refused. At one point in time, she underwent a very bad financial problem and came under a lot of financial stress due to famine. She came to me asking for help. I offered her a hundred and twenty 120 golden Dinars in order to let me have what I wanted from her; i.e., illegitimate sexual relations with her outside the wedlock. Under the pressure of her pressing need and poor financial situation, she agreed. When I was ready to begin the intercourse with her, she said, 'O Cousin! Fear Allah! And do not remove the seal of virginity except with the right manner.' Upon hearing that, I got up and did not touch her although she was the most beloved and wanted woman to me. I did not take back the gold which I gave her.' Then he raised his hands to heavens and said: 'O Allah! If You know I have done what I did for Your cause and pleasure, please remove the trouble and the stress that we are suffering. Remove the rock from the cave's entrance so we can get out!' Upon saying that, the rock was removed a very small distance again, so small as to not enable a person to get out of the cave.

The third man said: 'O Allah! You know that I once employed some workers and at the end of the day I paid their wages except for one who left without collecting his pay. Thus, I rightly invested his wages in my business and kept a special note and account for it. The money that belonged to this worker grew a lot during the years. At one point in time, after many years, the worker came to me asking for his wage that he did not take for that day of work. I pointed out to him a large group consisting of a herd of sheep, cows, camels, slaves and servants, and said to him: 'All that you see is yours! That is the wage that I owe you!' The poor worker was stunned and said: 'Please, do not ridicule and make fun of me! I am only asking for one-day wage. The employer said: 'I am neither ridiculing you nor making fun of you. This is all yours.' The worker took all that I pointed out for him and left. Then the man raised his hands to heavens and said: 'O Allah! If I have done what I did for Your cause and pleasure, remove the trouble and the stress that we are suffering.' Upon that the rock rolled away from the cave's entrance and the three men left the cave free again.' ”[3] [3]

Islamic teachings also consider the pleasure of the parents, being good, kind, helpful, considerate, respecting and caring to them as one of the things that abolishes the sins in this world. It is reported that Abdullah Ibn 'Omar (may Allah be pleased with him), said: “A man came to Allah's Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: 'O Prophet! I have committed a major sin. Do you think that I can repent to Allah from it?' Allah's Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked the man: "Do you have a mother living?" The man answered negatively. Allah Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) further asked the man: "Do you have a maternal aunt living?" The man answered positively. Allah's Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: "Be kind, caring, helpful, good, respective and keen to her.”[4][4] This is, of course, due to the fact that the mother's sister (aunt), in accordance to Islam, has a similar position and status to that of the mother. Allah's Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is reported to have said: “The sister of the mother has a similar position and status to that of the mother.”[5]

Islam required that the rights of parents should continue to be honored and respected even after their death. Malik Ibn Rabee'ah reported: “While we were sitting with Allah's Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), a man from Bani Salamah came to him and asked: 'O Allah's Apostle! My parents passed away. Is there anything required of me as a right of theirs after their death which I should keep and maintain.' Allah's Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Yes indeed. You should maintain supplications and prayers on their behalf. Ask Allah continuously to pardon them and forgive them. Fulfill any promises or pledges of allegiance that they have taken or offered others to do. Honor, respect and be hospitable to their friends and maintain a strong ties with your relatives which illustrate your love and respect to your parents.”[6]

All that we have stated and illustrated are only broad guidelines on the major and essential rights of parents, in general, and mothers, in particular, in accordance to Islamic teachings. There are many other rights of parents that we did not state here so as not to bore the reader.