Articles

When the Mother has a Noble Mission
Author : Dr. Mohammad Al-Zou`bi
Date Added : 06-12-2022

 

When the Mother has a Noble Mission

 

 

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

 

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: A person came to Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and asked: "Who among people is most deserving of my fine treatment?" He (PBUH) said: "Your mother". He again asked: ''Who next?" "Your mother", the Prophet (PBUH) replied again. He asked: "Who next?" He (the Prophet (PBUH) said again: "Your mother." He again asked: "Then who?" Thereupon he (PBUH) said: "Then your father." [Agreed upon].

 

This is so true because the mother is the one that experiences significant stress while pregnant and comes close to death when she going into labor. She is the same person that stayed up nights looking after her children and deprived herself from food to make them full. It was narrated that Mu’awiyah Ibn Jahimah As-Sulaimi said: “I came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I want to go for Jihad with you, seeking thereby the Face of Allah and the Hereafter.’ He said: "Woe to you! Is your mother still alive?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Go back and honor her.’ Then I approached him from the other side and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I want to go for Jihad with you, seeking thereby the Face of Allah and the Hereafter.’ He said: ‘Woe to you! Is your mother still alive?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Go back and honour her.’ Then I approached him from in front and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I want to go for Jihad with you, seeking thereby the Face of Allah and the Hereafter.’ He said: ‘Woe to you! Is your mother still alive?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Go back and serve her, for there is Paradise." {Sunan Ibn Majah}. No matter what you do to your mother, it is nothing compared to her sacrifices for you.

The mother is responsible for upbringing her children to be righteous as herself because she recites the Quran and observes the five daily prayers. She raises her sons to be honest, trustful, and courageous. Similarly, she raises her daughters to be chaste, pure, decent, and Sharia-compliant. She is the maker of heroes because the poet Hafid Ibrahim said about her: "The mother is a school. If you prepared and educated her well, you will have prepared an entire nation."

 

The mother is the counterpart of the father and represents half of society. Rather, a mother is a whole nation, and this is why it was said (What means): "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." One example of this is Asma Bint Abi Baker {May Allah be pleased with them}. One time, her son came to her and consulted her about what to do with Al-Hajjaj who besieged him in Makkah. She said to him that if he was right then he should go ahead, but if he was wrong then he will perish. He said to her that he was afraid that Al-Hajaj will mutilated him. She replied by saying {what means} that skinning a slaughtered goat doesn`t harm it a bit. This is in addition to many other examples from the life of the righteous predecessors.

However, some parents are passive and play no role in the lives of their children. It is as if the children were orphaned at early age. This why one poet mentioned that some children are orphans not because their parents were dead but because they were totally absent as far as their duties towards their children are concerned.

Dear fathers and mothers,

 

Be mindful of Allah and know that your children are a trust with you and that Allah placed this responsibility on you, made you their guardians, and will hold you liable for that on the Day of Resurrection.

An educator is like a farmer who removes weeds and plants new seeds. Therefore, never neglect your children for this makes them an easy prey for your enemies, and a closer look at real life events is the best evidence on this.

Allah has spoken the truth when He Said (What means): "O ye who believe! save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who flinch not (from executing) the Commands they receive from God, but do (precisely) what they are commanded." {At-Tahrim/6}. We pray that Allah protects our children, forgives our fathers and mothers, protects our homeland, and makes us among those who listen to the word and follow the best of it.

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on the prayer of zawal?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended (sunnah) to pray four rakʿāt — either with a single tasleem or as two separate sets of two rakʿāt — immediately following the sun's decline from its zenith (zawāl). This prayer is distinct from the regular Sunnah prayer of Ẓuhr (sunnat al-ẓuhr al-rātibah), as explicitly stated by the Shāfiʿī jurists.
It is mentioned in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj: "The prayer of zawāl is offered after the sun's decline — so were one to perform it before that, it would not count. It consists of two or four rakʿāt and is distinct from the Sunnah of Ẓuhr, as is evident from the fact that it is mentioned separately after the regular Sunnah prayers, and it becomes a make-up prayer (qaḍāʾ) if a long period of time passes by customary reckoning... Al-ʿAlqamī stated: 'Scholars refer to this as the Sunnah of Zawāl, and it is distinct from the four rakʿāt that constitute the Sunnah of Ẓuhr.' Our shaykh said: Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī stated that among those who explicitly affirmed its recommendation was al-Ghazālī in al-Iḥyāʾ, in the chapter on devotional litanies, noting that there is no tasleem between them — meaning there is no break between each pair of rakʿāt."
The time of the sun's decline (zawāl) marks the very beginning of the time for the Ẓuhr prayer.
And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a father shaking hands with his son’s wife after she has been divorced three times?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The wife of one’s son is among the women permanently prohibited to the husband’s father as soon as the marriage contract  is concluded, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Prohibited to you are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your paternal aunts, your maternal aunts, your brother’s daughters, your sister’s daughters, your foster mothers, your foster sisters, your wives’ mothers, and your stepdaughters under your guardianship [born] of your wives with whom you have consummated marriage. But if you have not consummated marriage with them, there is no sin upon you. [Also prohibited are] the wives of your sons who are from your loins, and that you take [in marriage] two sisters simultaneously, except for what has already occurred. Indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.” [al-Nisāʾ/23]
This prohibition begins once the son’s marriage contract with his wife is complete, and it remains in force even if the son separates from her before consummation or before any seclusion (khalwah) with her. It is therefore permissible for the father to shake her hand and to be alone with her, provided there is no fitnah (temptation) and no suspicion.
It is stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 204): “It is forbidden to marry… the wives of one’s fathers and of one’s sons. All of these women become prohibited by the mere contract, … all of that being a permanent prohibition.” End quote, with slight adaptation. And Allah Almighty knows best.

Is fidyah required for someone who breaks their fast due to a valid excuse?

● If the excuse is permanent, such as a chronic illness with no hope of recovery or old age, then fidyah is required. This means feeding one needy person for each missed fasting day.
● However, if the excuse is temporary, such as menstruation, postnatal bleeding, or a temporary illness, then only making up the missed fasts (qada) is required, and fidyah does not apply.

Is a woman`s prayer considered invalid if non-Mahrams (marriageable men) saw her offering it?

A woman`s prayer isn`t invalidated if non-Mahrams saw her offering it, but she had better pray in isolation.