This is one of the most convincing things about Islam - the
treatment of women in general and especially the high position mothers
hold in Islam.
Amongst the clearest examples of Islam's honoring women is the
great status of the mother in Islam. Islam commands kindness, respect
and obedience to parents and specifically emphasizes and gives
preference to the mother as shall be shown in this article. Islam raises
parents to a status greater than that found in any other religion or
ideology.
The command to be good to one's parents begins right from the Qur'an. Allah says:
"Worship God and join not any partners with Him; and be kind to your parents..." [Noble Quran 4:36]
The mention of servitude to parents follows immediately after servitude to God. This is repeated throughout the Qur'an.
"Your Lord has decreed that you worship none
but Him and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them
attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor
repel them, but address them in terms of honor. 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." [Noble Quran 17:23-24]
The great scholar, Abu al-Faraj Ibn Al-Jawzî (d. 1201CE) explained:
To be kind to one's parents is: to obey them when they order you
to do something, unless it is something which Allah has forbidden; to
give priority to their orders over voluntary acts of worship; to abstain
from that which they forbid you to do; to provide for them; to serve
them; to approach them with gentle humility and mercy; not to raise your
voice in front of them; nor to fix your glance on them; nor to call
them by their names; and to be patient with them. (Ibn al-Jawzî, Birr al-Wâlidayn)
The Qur'an emphasizes the great struggles the mother goes through
for her child, to highlight the need for one to reciprocate their
parents sacrifice for them:
"And We have enjoined on man [to be good] to
his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him and his
weaning was over two years. Be thankful to Me and to your parents, unto
Me is the final destination."[Noble Quran 31:14]
The renowned exegete, Shaykh Abdur-Rahman As-Sa'di (d. 1956), says about this verse:
{And to your parents} meaning, be kind to your parents, shower on
them love, affection and piety, both in words and deeds, treat them with
tender humility, provide for them and never harm them verbally nor
physically. [...] Then, Allah mentions the reason why we should be kind
to our parents, when He says {His mother bore him in travail upon
travail}, that is, the mother bore constant suffering; in pain and
hardship from the first moment she felt the child moving in her womb to
the worst pangs during the time of delivery. And {his weaning is for two
years}, that is, during these two years the mother breast-feeds her
child and looks after him/her. So after all the years of suffering,
hardship, love and care, could we not, at least, compensate our mothers
for what they have done for us and pay them back their rights? (Taysîr al-Karîm ar-Rahmân fî Tafsîr al-Kalâm al-Manân)
