Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and blessings and peace be
upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
What is known among many people as Mother's Day and which is claimed to
be the 21st of March is nothing but an innovation and a non-Islamic
ritual which has entered the Muslim's homes because of their
inadvertence and ignorance of the Islamic values and rites. In fact this
so called "Mother's Day" is an imitation of the non-believers, namely
the western people and their followers.
It is proven that the Prophet Muhammad (Blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said:
"If somebody tries to introduce into this faith of ours (Islam)
something which is not a part of it, is to be rejected and that person
is condemned".[Reported
by Imams Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
No innovation has come except it has caused a Sunnah to be neglected or
even rejected. This is clear and evident. You can for instance see a man
who disobeys his mother and causes her much harm and who does not visit
her except on rare occasion, and when this "Day" comes he brings her a
gift or a flower and thinks that by this act he has fulfilled his duties
towards her.
The People who innovated this practice did so first as compensation to
their society's nonfeasance as far as the rights of mothers are
concerned and, second, due to the break in kinship ties and lack of the
sincere affection that should exist between parents and their children.
For the above reasons, these people innovated this Day to return to
mothers "Some of their rights" and to make families celebrate it and
"honor" mothers.
By doing so, they are like the one who kept silent for a long time and
the first word he uttered was nonsense. What is the importance of
"honoring" a person one day in a whole year and leaving that person the
rest of the year in a "home for the elderly" or alone with her dog or
cat? Are these animals more faithful to this woman than her own children
whom she has breast-fed and raised as best she could? We say in this
respect that the mother herself played a part in initiating this
disobedience as she herself disobeyed her mother as a young girl. She
used to practice the same with her mother and now she receives the same
fate as a mother. The Prophet said:
"No people have innovated something that is not from the religion but a
Sunnah of the same extent is eliminated. So sticking to a Sunnah is
better than creating an innovation".
[Reported by Imam Ahmad].
The scholars are agreed that it is forbidden to appoint a feast day for
Muslims other than the two feasts: Al Fitr and Al ADHA because feasts
are part of what Allah has ordained on us.
{Allah Says (interpretation of meaning):
{For
every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies which they must
follow;}[22: 67].
Moreover, celebrating this Day does not give the mother the smallest
fraction of what Allah has prescribed for her. Allah has ordained on us
to obey our mothers and do all the good to them as long as they are
alive and after they die. No other religion has given the mother the
rights Islam prescribed to her.
Allah commanded us in many verses of the Holy Qur'an to obey parents and
do good to them. He even linked their obedience to His worship. He
linked thanking Him to thanking them. Allah mentioned the mother alone
in some places to show us that her rights are greater than those of the
father.
Allah says
{Worship Allâh and join none with Him in
worship, and do good to parents } (4:36)
Allah says:{
And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be
dutiful to your parents. }.(17:23).
Ibn Abbas said: "The obedience of the parents increases by being kind
and gentle to them. One should reply gently to everything that they tell
him. One should not look at them in their eyes. One should not shout at
them. Rather, when with one's parents one should be like the slave
before his master".
Ibn al-Mussaib said: 'When interpreting the verse: "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." he said:"like what a
sinful slave says to a harsh master". On the other hand, the obedience
to parents is an obligation on the children even if the parents are
non-Muslims or Muslims are known to be dissolute. Allah says{"But
if they strive to make you join in worship with Me things of which you
have no knowledge obey them not; Yet bear them company in this life with
justice (and consideration)}.(31:15).
Allah ordered that they be given good company even if they are atheists.
Imams Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Asma that she said:
"My mother came to me, hoping (for my favor) during the life time of the
Prophet. I asked the Prophet, "May I treat her kindly?" He replied,
"Yes".
`Abdullah bin Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I asked
the Prophet (peace be upon him),
"Which of the deeds is loved most by Allah?'' Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) said, "Salat
at its proper time.'' I asked, ``What next?'' He
(peace be upon him) replied,
``Kindness to parents.'' I asked, ``What next?'' He replied, ``Jihad in
the way of Allah.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with
him) reported: A person came to the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him) and asked,
"Who among people is most deserving of my fine treatment?'' He
(peace be upon him) said, "Your
mother". He again asked, ``Who next?'' "Your mother", the Prophet
(peace be upon him) replied
again. He asked, "Who next?'' He (the Prophet
(peace be upon him)) said again,
"Your mother.'' He again asked, "Then who?'' Thereupon he
(peace be upon him) said,'' Then
your father.''
Al-Mughirah bin Shu`bah (may Allah be
pleased with him) reported: The Prophet
(peace be upon him) said,
"Allah has forbidden you: disobedience to your mothers, to withhold
(what you should give), or demand (what you do not deserve), and to bury
your daughters alive. And Allah dislikes idle talk, to ask too many
questions (for things which will be of no benefit to one), and to waste
your wealth".
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
So their right is greater than that of the father. It is three times the
right of the father.
Al-Bukhari narrated in his book Al-Adab Al-Mufrad that Ibn Abbas said:
"I do not know any good act that brings the person closer to Allah The
Almighty than the obedience of one's mother".
The obedience of parents is not restricted to their lifetime; it is also
done after their death.
Abu Dawood reported that a man once came to the Prophet and said: "Is
there any form of obedience that I could do to my parents after their
death?"
The Prophet said:
"Yes. Ask blessings for them. Ask Allah to forgive them. Carry out their
testimony. Treat kindly anybody with whom they have blood relationships
and treat their friends kindly".
This indeed is the recognition that parents deserve and, above all the
mother. So, anybody who obeys Allah as ordered by the Shari’ah should
not celebrate this day because it is an innovation and because Islam
gave the mother complete and comprehensive rights all the time. So,
anyone who does not give due respect to his mother all the time, cannot
make it up to her just by celebrating this day. In fact, by doing so, he
will be both disobedient to Allah and an innovator.
Likewise the practice in the West of setting aside certain days for
expressing good deeds, such as Thanksgiving Day (proclaiming gratitude
to God) or Christmas (doing charitable acts), should not be observed by
Muslims for the reasons already given. Thanking and praising Allah, and
doing acts of charity are forms of worship that should be a way of life
for the Muslim.
Allah knows best.
