Heaven Lies at the Mother's Feet

Ok, first of all, I’d like to tell everyone how much love I have for spoken word poetry. I love the rhythm and the rhyme.  It’s amazing how much art can be made from simple words and a microphone.  So any chance I get to share a spoken word poem, I will definitely do so, and I hope y’all can enjoy it as well. The one I have below is a love letter from a man to his mother. Enjoy J

The status of a mother in Islam is inequitable. It is mentioned multiple times in the Quran and teachings of the Prophet (SAW) to believe in the oneness of God and do good to your parents.  This shows the importance of respecting parents coming right after having monotheism. Islam even puts the status of a mother above that of the father, as stated in the following Hadeeth:

A man came to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah! Who from amongst mankind warrants the best companionship from me? He replied: "Your mother." The man asked: Then who? So he replied: "Your mother." The man then asked: Then who? So the Prophet replied again: "Your mother." The man then asked: Then who? So he replied: "Then your father." (Sahîh Bukhârî 5971 and Sahîh Muslim 7/2)

No matter how much you do for your mother, you can never repay her for what she has done for you.  The pregnancy, the childbirth, the midnight feedings and cleanings and diaper changes and burpings and spit-ups and on and on.  No one can ever understand how much a mother does until that person becomes a mother herself.

I love my mother.  She is SO. AWESOME. I never give her enough credit for how much she has contributed to my success. I killed myself finishing my degree, and she was there for me in every way possible. She made me tea and whatever else I needed every time I had to stay up late or wake up early finishing assignments and studying. I am an oddball, and I am a little cooky, but she always encouraged me to do what I wanted to do rather than conform. That kind of support is GOLD. I am a picky eater (I hate onions!), so my mom would always set aside a portion of the meal to make sure I would enjoy it.  And boy is she a wonderful cook! I was definitely a trouble child growing up—I was the child in and out of hospitals for all sorts of reasons.  I know that she has done way more for me and my siblings than anyone would ever be willing to do for us, and there is no way I can ever repay her.

Sometimes I lose my patience with my mother, and I have to keep in mind how much that I owe her.  I don’t have the right to do so, and I will never have the right to mistreat or disrespect her.  Islam teaches us that even in times where you feel like you are right and the parent is wrong, you must always maintain respect and duty to them.  Even if you don’t feel like doing what they say, you must obey.  Even when you don’t understand why they say no about something, you have to respect them and never address them with raised and harsh voices.

I have struggled with this my whole life, especially in my teen years when I thought I knew everything about everything.  Having grown up a bit more, I’ve realized that I couldn’t have been more wrong.  I try each and every day to make up for my arrogance and disrespect towards her.  I ask God to grant me forgiveness for any time I have wronged my mother and patience to avoid it in the future.  I also ask God to extend and lengthen my time with her in this life and the next, and to make me appreciative of everything she does.