I asked the Prophet s.a.w who has the greatest right over a man and he said, "His mother." [Narrated by Aisha Umm al-Muminin]
I asked, "Messenger of Allah to whom shall I be dutiful?" He replied, "Your mother." I asked, "Then whom?" He replied, "Your mother." I asked, "Then whom?" He replied, "Your mother." I asked, "Then whom?" He replied, "Your mother." I asked, "Then whom should I be dutiful?" He replied, "Your father, and then next closest relative and then the next." [Narrated by Abu Huraira]
Our parents are the most wonderful & precious treasures that we're given. But we never fully realise their importance or ever cherish them enough. I never understood how dear my parents truly are until I became a mother myself. The hardship of the pregnancy, the labour, the birth experience, the difficulties of nursing & looking after a newborn - all these & more along the path of motherhood enabled me to comprehend just how dear & precious my own parents are, especially my mother. I can never be thankful, grateful, appreciative or ever repay her enough for what she has sacrificed & done for me.
I believe the same goes for everyone out there. We can never love our parents enough because our love will always be wanting compared to the boundless love & sacrifice which our mothers enveloped us in since we were conceived. The thought 'mother' cannot be separated from that of 'love'. Love is sweet & delicious. It's the nourishment you need to grow. Without love, a child cannot flower, an adult cannot mature. Without love, we weaken & wither. All of us are showered with tender love for many years & without even knowing it, we're quite happy with that. Only when it has vanished do we awaken with a start.
Remember those moments when you have a bitter aftertaste in your mouth following an attack of a fever & everything you eat is bland & tasteless? Only when your mother comes & tucks you in, gently pulling the covers over your chest & placing her palm on your burning forehead with a gentle whispers of "My poor child..." Do you feel restored, surrounded by the sweetness & warmth of maternal love? Maternal love is our first taste of love, the origin & source of all feelings of love. Our mother is the teacher who first teaches us love, the most important lesson in our life. Without her, we cannot have known how to love. Thru her, we acquire our first notions of compassion & empathy, because her love is the source of all love. When you're little, your mother is like a gentle & sweet angel who makes your pains & worries disappear. You barely let out a cry & she's there at your side. Just the word 'mother' fills your heart with love.
Our mother is a boundless source of love, an inexhaustible treasure; yet so often we don't realise this. Our mother is the greatest & most beautiful gift Allah s.w.t offers us. Those of you who still have your mothers around, please don't wait till her death to say, "I've lived beside my mother all these years without even looking closely at her. Just brief glances, a few words exchanged - asking for a little pocket money, or one thing or another." Or you lose your temper, kick up a fuss, sulk & whine restlessly. You only complicate her life, causing her to worry, undermining her health, making her sleep late & get up early. Thru out her life, we children expect her to cook, wash & clean up after us, while we think only of our grades & our careers. Our mothers no longer have time to look deeply at us & we're too busy to look closely at her. Then, when she's gone, you're overcome by a sense of loss because you never fully understand the meaning of her presence & devotion.
We believe that a child without filial piety is without worth. But filial piety also arises from love itself. Without love, filial piety is artificial. When love is present, that's no need to talk of obligation. To love your mother is enough. It's not a duty. Loving your mother is completely natural, as natural as drinking water when you're thirsty. Every child must have a mother & it's totally natural to love her. The mother loves her child & the child loves his mother. The child needs his mother & the mother needs her child. If the mother does not need her child, nor the child his mother, then there's neither mother nor child. There's only a misuse of the terms 'mother' & 'child'.
Long ago a teacher asked me, "If you love your mother, how do you show it?" I told him, "I must obey & help her, take care of her when she's old & pray for her after her death." Now, however, I would only say: I love my mother & I don't have to 'show' anything at all. Just loving her is enough. To love your mother is not a question of morality or virtue.
Please do not think I have written this to give you a lesson in morality. Loving your mother is a question of profit. A mother is like a pure spring water. If you do not know how to profit from this, it's unfortunate for you. I simply want to bring this to your attention, to help you avoid complaining one day that there's nothing left in life for you. If a gift such as the presence of your own mother doesn't satisfy you, even if you're the president of a large corporation or king of a country, you probably still will not be satisfied.
If I had any advice it would be this: Tonight, when you return from school or work, or the next time you visit your mother, go into her room calmly, silently with a smile & sit down beside her. Without saying anything, look at her really closely, for as long as you can. Look at her well in order to see, to realise that she's there, alive & sitting beside you. Then take her hand & ask her this short question, "Mother, do you know what?" She will be a little surprised & will probably smile when she asks you, "What dear?" Continuing to look into her eyes with a serene smile, tell her, "Do you know that I love you?" Ask her this question without expecting an answer. Even if you are thirty, forty years old, or older, ask her simply because you're the child of your mother. Both you & your mother will be happy, basking in the conscious knowledge of your undying & indestructible love for each other. So that even if she leaves you tomorrow or in the future, you will have no regrets...