Mothers enjoy time with their children at the Muslim American Society of Charlotte on Shamrock Drive.
BY ROSE HAMID
Guest column, Charlotte Observer
I was surprised to hear some Muslims object to Mother’s Day. How could anyone object to Mother’s Day?
It was explained that they feel it trivializes motherhood to only recognize mothers once a year. See, Islam holds mothers and parenthood in very high regard. One of my favorite verses about parenthood in the Quran says:
Our 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 even as they cherished me in childhood.”
Here is one of the many verses which honor motherhood:
“And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents; in travail upon travail did his mother bear him and his weaning was over two years. Be thankful to Me and to your parents….”
I was comforted by that verse because I was big into La Leche League, which encouraged breastfeeding for two years (something not very popular in the 1980s).
Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) held mothers in high regard. A man came to the prophet and asked “Who is most worthy of my kind treatment?” The prophet said: “Your mother.” The man asked: “Then who?” The prophet again replied: “Your mother.” The man further asked: “Then who?” The prophet said again: “Your mother.” The man asked: “Who after that?” The prophet responded: “Then your father.”
Muhammad also said, “Paradise lies at the feet of your mother.”
All that information makes me, as a mom, feel esteemed by God, but it contradicts what I see happening in countries that claim to be led by Muslims. There are places where Muslim women are oppressed and abused. But it is not because of Islam, it is in spite of Islam. The people in power in those countries are not following Islamic doctrine. They pick and choose pieces of the faith that suit them or their traditional pre-Islamic ideologies and customs.
They are a disgrace to Islam and the teachings of our beloved Prophet.
Actually, the teachings of Islam gave women rights in A.D. 632 they’d never had before. Some of those rights include the right to own property and manage their own businesses (something not granted to women in the U.S. until about the 1800s); to participate in public discourse and vote (not given until 1920 in the U.S.); to refuse unwanted marriage proposals; to get a divorce; to get an education, etc. A Muslim woman has a right to keep money she earns. Her money is not to be used to pay for basic necessities such as housing, food and clothing; those are the responsibility of her father, husband or other male relatives. In marriage, his money is their money, her money is her money (insert smiley face here).
If you are a woman struggling in a society that makes you feel less valued than men (or are being paid less than men), know that God knows your worth. If you are a mom in the trenches of toddlerhood, or are facing the drama of middle-schoolers, or are tending an empty nest, know that God has honored you in motherhood. If you are blessed enough to still have your mother around, don’t wait for Mother’s Day to celebrate and honor her; some are not so blessed.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article19944669.html#storylink=cpy