I don’t know where to start this write-up and where to end, where will I bring those words describing the love of Mothers for their children and their significance in one’s life. Somehow, I decided to write a few words here emerging from my melancholic heart. Parents are a blessing to have in this world which majority of us don’t understand until their shadow vanishes a day from one’s life and the one feels very insecure thereafter. From childhood they provide us with love and affection, sacrifice their own happiness for our’s, give us everything we yearn for possible in their domain. They always want to make sure their child remains happy and satisfied with them without caring for their own happiness in return. Indeed, it is their responsibility to provide their child with love and affection, provide them good quality education, teach them good manners, enlighten them with the teachings of Islam in the light of Quran and Hadith and finally to choose a good spouse for them. However, same responsibility lies then with the wards to provide them with the same love, care and affection when it is their time to receive something good from them.
Like any other mother, my mother too was very affectionate, loving, caring and humble to me since she brought me onto this world. She was very industrious and a gentle woman without any jealousy, grudge or malice for anyone. In childhood I used to be very naughty and playful. She used to satisfy every wish of mine. I used to cry a lot to force her to take me to a neighbour's bike and make me sit on that; sometimes for the entire day. Similarly, whenever I used to go to market with my father, I would not return until my eye would have catched the glimpse of any toy on a shop and it wasn’t purchased. When I was admitted in a local school, I used to cry a lot and bunk often. Even sometimes when nothing worked in font of my furious behavior and simultaneously caring for my career, my parents would call the nearby police post to scare me and it appeared funny “how a police man used to accompany me with his gun to school.” However, it was in my childhood when my mother got diagnosed with diabetes and other health issues impacting her health and with time till my teenage, her health got very much deteriorated. Armed conflict also to a very great extent played a vital role in impacting her health psychologically. Some deaths in our family from maternal side (her brother especially) due to the armed conflict had a very great psychological impact on her which ultimately developed into a very severe depression amid other health issues. Despite all this, without caring for her own, she always used to make sure that her illness doesn’t become any barrier or burden for our family and especially in education of children. Credit goes to my father who acted as both father and mother for us when my mother’s health worsened. Moreover, despite doing more than enough a mother usually does for her children, she had this regret inside her heart thinking her illness as the cause of unhappiness in the family. It was her unflinching love and affection which had no boundaries.
It was January 22 of this year and I was to go back to Aligarh and this was the last time she had given me a tight hug while leaving warmth and sweetness of which I now yearn for but can’t get. The grief came on February 10 this year just when I had went to sleep and received a phone call of my elder brother asking to come home immediately citing Mummy was seriously ill. A severe melancholy dominated my heart but I accepted what the harsh reality was! Somehow morning flight was booked for the next day but this journey at that time was the hardest I had to undergo in my life with lot of fears in mind. Credit goes to my two friends whose favour I will always remember who managed everything including money at that time and accompanied me to Airport from Aligarh during that night. However, still the biggest fear was taking off of the flight next morning (being winter)to at least be able to see her for the last time and for last rites. With one hour delay, the flight ultimately took off and this 1 hour 15 minutes journey from Delhi to Srinagar appeared to me as traveling from any other planet to earth. It was longest and toughest. Finally, I arrived home to see her for the one last time and she had left for heavenly abode. She often comes now in my dreams and these are beautiful but then I wake up to find myself in the same state of melancholy. I wish these dreams to never end. All I can do now is to read Holy Quran for her, visit her grave, remember all her sweet memories from childhood, watch her pictures and lastly shed tears in lonely dark nights.
“Vo aksar khwaabmain akar meri halat pai roti hai
Ki ZaireKhaak bhi Maa ki pareshani nahijati”
Losing a mother is one of the greatest and deepest sorrows a heart can know. It is one of the biggest losses in life. Having parents alive is a blessing much of value than wealth, big houses and cars. Moreover, Islam has given a very great status to mothers. A Hadith says, “Paradise lies under the feet of a mother.” This indicates that if a person does only this great amal (deed) in this world that is to taking care of his parents in old age will earn for him great place in Jannah. When the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had to leave this world, he (SAW)in last days yearned and said these words. “I wish my mother had been alive and I would have been taking care of her. I wish I would have started my Isha prayer and started reading Surah Al-Fatihah and from my home my mother would have called me Muhammad; I would have stopped praying (at that moment) and first gone to listen her.” This is just an example of the mighty status of mothers in our religion. If we see around today youngsters become rude towards their parents that too on small petty issues. Yes, sometimes they say something harsh whether advises or anything else to follow; we must understand that is for our betterment most of the times. They can never wish any harm for their children. Their love is unconditional. Sometimes, one can get angry over them on some issues but we must bear and absorb it like they had to bear everything we did in our childhood. Never argue orhurt them. We must not let them feel like “the tree which was planted dosen’t produced any fruit.” They had raised us since childhood and provided with every penny for our betterment, so they have equal right to receive it back in their old age not just in the form of money but to be with them in every situation. The message goes to all the people especially youngsters to be kind to their parents and strike a workable balance in all relationships in this competitive world without ignoring for a moment the ultimate relationship with his/her parents.

Email:----sheikhumairrashid@gmail.com