The worth of parents, and moreso mothers, is beautifully outlined in the following narrations:
HOT TEMPER
A man came to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and complained his mother was very hot tempered. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) asked: ‘Was she hot tempered when she kept you in her womb for 9 months?’ The man: ‘But truly my mother is very hot tempered.’ The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam): ‘Did you complain about her hot temper when you suckled her breast for 2 years?’ The man: ‘But O Messenger of Allah, I am speaking the truth.’ The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam): ‘Did you complain of her hot temper when she stayed awake the whole night for your sake and gave you milk to drink?’ The man: ‘I have repaid her for all her troubles.’ The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam): ‘What did you repay her?’ The man: ‘She performed Hajj on my shoulder.’ The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam): ‘Can you repay her for the excessive pain she patiently bore at your birth?’ The man had no answer for he knew it was impossible to repay her for that pain.
DEBTS
A person once said to Umar (radhiallahu anhu): ‘My mother has reached old age and is unable to do anything for herself. I carry her on my back, feed her, and wash and clean her. Did I repay my debt to her?’ Umar (radhiallahu anhu) replied no. ‘But,’ said the man, ‘I am carrying her as she carried me when I was little, looking after her needs as she did mine, and looking after her. Am I still indebted to her?’ Umar (radhiallahu anhu) replied: ‘She did what she had done whilst praying for you and your life, while you are doing what you are doing while praying for her death.’
Magical Mothers
