The mother in Islam
Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
· {Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.} [Quran 4:36]
· {And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff," and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.} [Quran 17:23]
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said, “A man came to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, who is most entitled to my best companionship?’ The Prophet said:‘Your mother.’ The man said, ‘Who comes next?’ The Prophet said:‘Your mother.’The man further asked, ‘Who comes next?’ The Prophet [again] said:‘Your mother.’The man asked [for the fourth time], ‘Who comes next?’ The Prophet replied:‘Your father.’”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar said,
[Ibn Battaal said, “This means that one's dutifulness to his mother should be three times his dutifulness to his father, due to the great difficulty that she alone suffers in pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, and then, she shares with the father in his upbringing. This is what the statement of Allah The Almighty refers to (which means): {And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years.} [Quran 31:14] Thus, both parents were made equal in that they should receive care [from their children], whereas the mother alone was favored with a greater share of this care by virtue of these three things.”
Al-Qurtubi said, “The point is that the mother deserves the greater portion of dutifulness from her child, and her right overrides that of the father in case giving preference to one of them over the other is required.”
‘Iyaadh said, “The majority of scholars are of the opinion that the mother is superior to the father when it comes to the child's dutifulness. It is also said, as narrated on the authority of Maalik, that their share of dutifulness is equal. However, the correct opinion is the former.”] [End of quote from Fat-h Al-Baari]
Moreover, the pure and full of wisdom Sharee‘ah encourages Muslims to maintain kinship ties with even the polytheistic mother. In confirmation of this, it was narrated on the authority of Asmaa’ bint Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said, “My mother, who was a polytheist, came to me during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah . I sought his opinion saying, ‘My mother has come to me wishing to receive kind treatment from me; shall I maintain kinship ties with her?’ The Prophet said: ‘Yes, maintain kinship ties with her.’” [Al-Bukhari]
The mother in disbelieving countries
The state of the family, in general, and the mother, in particular, in the non-Islamic communities is deplorable. One can hardly find an integrated family there whose members maintain kinship ties with each other and have regular meetings in which they could assemble as a family. As one of those who has witnessed the condition in some countries of disbelief has related, you may find in the markets or streets a mother/father in the company of her/his daughter/son, but rarely would you see a complete family shopping or walking in the street together.
When the mother or father grows old, their children (those who try to act dutifully) hasten to put them in a retirement home. Some Muslims when visiting one of these homes asked ten old men and women about their ultimate wish; they all said that they simply wished to die. This is simply due to the oppression, grief and sorrow they suffer because of the bad state they had reached, as their children had abandoned them at a time when they were in dire need of them.
The Date of Mother's Day in different countries
The time and manner in which Mother’s Day is celebrated differ from country to country. It is held on the second Sunday of February in Norway, on the second Sunday of October in Argentina, on the first day of spring in Lebanon, on the first Sunday of May in South Africa, and on the last Sunday of May in France, where they celebrate Family Day, in which the family members gather for dinner after which a cake is presented to the mother.
In Sweden, the holiday of Family Day is on the last Sunday of May, and several days prior to it, the Swedish Red Cross sells a lot of little plastic roses and distributes them to the stay-at-home mothers who are engaged in taking care of their children.
In Japan, like North America, the celebration is held on the second Sunday of May, in which pictures are drawn by children of 6-14 years of age and are presented in a traveling exhibit under the name "My Mother", which, every four years, moves from one country to another.