“Remember Your Mothers”

This Sunday will be Mother’s Day and as millions of people around the US and possible around the world celebrate motherhood, I thought it was important to talk about this from an Islamic perspective.

Growing up, I was always told, “Muslims celebrate Mothers everyday so we don’t celebrate Mother’s Day”; Motherhood in Islam is elevated to a very high status, but that does not mean that you shouldn’t appreciate her even more for one day every year…

Because lets face it, how many of us appreciate our mothers day in and day out every day of the year; and since we don’t, I think it is important to do it a bit extra, even if it be for one day;

As mentioned earlier, motherhood in Islam is regarded very highly, in general about parenthood, we find in the Qur’an that Allah says:

"Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, And that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, Say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, But address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, Lower to them the wing of humility, and say: 'My Lord! bestow on them Your Mercy as they Cherished me in childhood' " (Quran 17:23-24).

However, the Qur’an in several other places puts special emphasis on the mother's great role:

"And We have enjoined on man to be good to his parents: In travail upon travail did his mother bear him and in two years was his weaning. Show gratitude to Me and to your parents" (Quran 31:14).

It is interesting that Allah begins this verse by talking about parents, but when emphasizing the point of why, he uses the example of the mother bearing the child and no mention of the father; the father is only alluded to in the word “parents”;

And in confirmation of this, we find in a hadeeth found in both Bukhari and Muslim

"A man asked the Prophet: 'Whom should I honor most?' The Prophet replied: 'Your mother'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet replied: 'Your mother'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet replied: 'Your mother!'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet replied: 'Your father'"

And in another hadeeth, we find that the Prophet said: "God has forbidden for you to be undutiful to your mothers." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

And so the Prophet is telling us to honor, remember, cherish, takecare of our mothers, so to those Muslims who say not to celebrate Mother’s day, I say why not? We have in the example of our messenger beautiful examples telling us otherwise;

Yes, the modern day version of Mother’s Day might be commercialized, devoid of any meaning besides giving flowers, buying jewelry, and having brunch, but that doesn’t mean we have to do the same; we can genuinely honor our mothers this Sunday but giving them a call and by saying Happy Mother’s Day, you are saying that you appreciate all that they did for you…

Keeping you in the womb for 9 mos
Weaning you for up to 2 years
And raising you with gentleness and kindness

These qualities of a woman/mother are unique, and are rarely found in men; and the reason is because Allah has given something to women that he has not given to men: the womb…

The Arabic word for womb is "rahem." Rahem is derived from the word for mercy. In Islamic tradition, one of God's 99 names is "Al-Raheem," or "the Most Merciful." There exists, therefore, a unique connection between God and the womb. Through the womb, we get a glimpse of the Almighty's qualities and attributes. It nurtures, feeds and shelters us in the early stages of life. The womb can be viewed as one manifestation of divinity in the world.

So I urge you today to make a point on Sunday to call up your mothers, wherever they are in the world, and wish them a happy Mother’s Day and pray for them, because it will remind them of how much you appreciate them; and if your mothers are not alive, then make a special dua’a for them for Allah to protect them and grant them paradise, because they are not too far away from it anyway

I mentioned in my closing of the last khutba that mothers are not too far away from paradise, and that is based on a hadith of the Prophet in which he says:

“Heaven is at the feet of mothers”

with this and another hadith where the Prophet mentioned honoring your mother 3 times before mentioning father, we have a call, a duty, an obligation to respect and honor our mothers;

and many times we lose sight of this throughout the year, and Mother’s Day allows us to reflect upon it, tell our mothers we appreciate them, and make a dua for them

and yes, the modern Mother’s day is very commercialized, and it became this way when President Woodrow Wilson officially made Mother’s Day a national holiday in 1914, to be celebrated every year on the second Sunday of May, but that should take us away from how important it is;

in fact the true history behind Mother’s Day is important to reflect upon, especially in the times we live in, with war, hatred, bigotry around us, it is similar to a time after the civil war in the US, when disgusted with what happened, Julia Ward Howe took it upon herself to write a Mother’s Day Proclamation; and in closing of this khutba, in honor of Mother’s Day, from the historical perspective and from an Islamic perspective, I would like to read to you the proclamation

Mother's Day Proclamation - 1870
by Julia Ward Howe

Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.