ماں کا حق باپ سے زیادہ

Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that a man asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): “Who has the greatest right over me to service and good treatment?” He (ﷺ) said: “Your mother.” I asked again; he said, “Your mother.” I asked again; he said, “Your mother. After her, your father has the right; after him, whoever is your nearest relative; then whoever is nearest after them.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

The reform and welfare of human society depends in truth on safeguarding mutual rights, on honouring the ties of relationship and kinship, and on treating one another with good conduct, kindness and benevolence. Islamic law requires that, in the relationship and kinship a person has with others in this world, the difference of degrees within that relationship be observed in the fulfilment of rights and in mutual dealings. It is evident that, by way of kinship, the mother's tie is the deepest of all and her bond the closest; therefore the one most deserving of a person's kindness, good treatment and service is the mother, then the father, and then one's other near relatives. Yet among these near relatives too the degrees of relationship and closeness are to be observed: the nearer a relative is by his relationship, the more he is to be given precedence. In this blessed hadith the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has stated this very principle of the Shari'a.

In service and good treatment the mother's right is even greater than the father's and takes precedence; the Glorious Qur'an indicates the same, for in many places, alongside enjoining kindness to both parents, it particularly mentions the hardships and pains the mother bears through her various stages. The scholars and jurists have also derived a ruling from the words of this hadith: that the mother's right is threefold greater than the father's, because she bears the burden of pregnancy, endures the pain and toil of childbirth, and bears special effort and hardship in suckling and rearing the child. For this reason, being kind and good to the mother and serving and caring for her has been declared greater upon the child than towards the father.

So great are the rights of parents and so lofty their rank that Allah has mentioned them together with the mention of Himself:

“And your Lord has decreed clearly that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents. If one of them or both of them reach old age in your presence, do not say even ‘uff' to them, but speak to them with respect and honour, and lower to them the wing of humility out of tenderness and love, and say: My Lord, have mercy upon them just as they nurtured me when I was small.” (Bani Isra'il, 23-24)

So great are the rights of parents and so important their service that even if a child were to spend his whole life in fulfilling them, he could not discharge his duty towards them. Therefore we should all fulfil their every wish, obey and comply with them, count their pleasure and approval a blessing for ourselves, be humble before them, adopt towards them an attitude of love, gentleness, deference and humility, and serve them as far as we possibly can. May Allah grant us all the ability to duly fulfil the rights of parents, relatives and kin. Ameen!