Honouring the Mothers

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The hadits, “Heaven is found beneath the feet of the mothers,” is what we call a general commandment.  And like all general commandments, we understand that there are exceptions.  Not all mothers are equal, and many are far from perfect.  A “mother” need not be the one who bore the child.  A “mother” is the one who raised the child, whether adopted or natural.  Or in the case of a single parent, a “mother” could even be the father.  So, we honour the caregivers, the nurturers, the nourishers, the cherisher.  These words, “nurturer”, “nourisher”, and “cherisher”, are words that roughly describe the meaning of “Rabb”. 

“Rabb” is often translated as, “Lord”, but that is highly inadequate.  Allah (s.w.t.) is Rabb al-A’alamin, the Nourisher, the Cherisher, the Sustainer, the Nurturer unto Perfection.  And when He Created us, He Decreed that we will come forth from each other, and have mothers, so that we will feel just a hint of His Immense Love, His Immense Qualities of Nurturing us through trials and tribulations into His khalifah fi al-‘ardh.  Thus, the one who knows a mother’s love, understands a bit of God’s Love.  And that is why heaven is found at the feet of the mother.  It is at the feet because to be at the feet, one must prostrate, and it is in prostration that the ego is diminished, and that when one finds God.  And is that not heaven enough?