Paradise is under mothers' feet

By Nathera Rabah

In Islam, the mother holds a huge important roll and is classified in a high position; mothers have a great significance in Islam. In the Qur’an, it emphasizes how much a mother struggles in life, from pregnancy “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]. Also, the Qur’an repeats its statement of the struggles of a mother in another passage, "And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to you, and indeed, I am of the Muslims." [Noble Quran 46:15]. 

            A mother goes through all the pain and struggle of her pregnancy therefore in Islam it is said “Do good to and serve your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father..” The statement “Then your mother” is repeated three times before the father, which indicates the importance of always obeying and listening to a mother. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) always used to remind his followers that the position of ones mother should always be high. Paradise is under mothers’ feet is a translated version (its originally written in Arabic) which basically means the heavens is under your mothers feet meaning always obey and do good for heaven is under the control of your mother.

            I chose this saying and why it really inspired me is because mothers are seen as weak and they are disrespected in society. Also, many mothers have been abused and harassed; a true example is a father abusing his wife for carrying a baby girl instead of a baby boy. Mothers are so important not only in society but also in Islam. A mother goes through the pain of carrying a young one for 9 whole months, not to mention when a mother is giving birth it is also said in Islam that the mother is between life and death at the stage of giving birth.

            Therefore, I decided to use Photoshop in order to convey this message. In the background I placed a pregnant women (twice) standing back to back and in a headline, which says “Paradise is under mothers’ feet” which is written in Arabic calligraphy. I chose a pregnant mother because that’s what’s mostly mentioned in the Qur’an, how much a mother suffers during pregnancy and during labor. I also chose it because today, most men perceive mothers as useless and weak. I used the color grey in my project

because grey is known as a color that has no emotion, my project is not to make people feel bad for mothers but to actually appreciate them instead, its also a color for stability for mothers are stable and will always remain stable with her children and family.

            Zayn Al-Abidin (713CE) was the great grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He treated his mother with so much respect, love, care and kindness. There is a narration that proves this, “You are the most kind person to his mother, yet we have never

seen you eating with her from a single dish.' He replied, 'I fear that my hand would take the what her eyes have already seen in the dish, and then I would be disobeying her.” He was so careful not to disobey his mother to the point where he wouldn’t eat with her because he was afraid he would eat something his mother had an eye on. 

Mothers are very important in the civilization and in Islam. Always treat a mother with love, care, and most of all respect for the paradise is under mothers’ feet.