Cross-post from http://saudilife.net/life-and-society/92-life-and-society/1653-are-you-a-sign-of-the-last-day
It was while watching the Oprah Winfrey Show many years ago when I realized that times have really changed…
This particular show interviewed a mother who had written and
published a children's book and dedicated it to her daughter. The
mother shared with Oprah that she now realized that she had spent many
of the daughter's young years working hard in her career and hadn't
given her daughter the time and attention she deserved.
The book was a gift from mother to daughter saying,
I'm sorry and
I love you.
Moved by the sincerity of the mother, Oprah turned to the daughter, who
was also present on the show, and asked her about the heartfelt
dedication in the book.
In response, the daughter scoffed at the dedication and said it meant
nothing to her. She said that a meager book could never make up for
all she'd lost in those years of her mother not being there for her…
…A friend of mine once shared the story of a young woman who had
accepted Islam and fell sick shortly thereafter and was hospitalized.
Her new Muslim companions would gather at her bedside reciting Qu'ran
and keeping her company. One day one of the Muslims was reciting Qur'an
and the woman started to turn her head back and forth in apparent
agitation. Concerned, the Muslims asked what was wrong.
The sick woman responded by saying that it was hard to concentrate because she didn't know whom to listen to.
“What do you mean?” the Muslims asked her.
Agitated, she said to the one reciting Qur'an, “Should I listen to you and should I listen to
them?”
The reciter turned and didn't see anyone. “I'm the only one reciting,” he said.
The woman, who did not know Arabic, responded saying, “I hear someone else saying,
'Yaa ayyu han-nafsul mut-ma-innah. 'Irji'ee ilaa rabbiki raaDiyya-tam marDiyyah. Fad-khulee fee 'ebaadee, wad-khulee jannatee.”
O reassured soul, Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him],
And enter among My [righteous]servants,
And enter My Paradise
(Al-Fajr, 89:27-30).
A moment later, she died…
…I don't know why, but the daughter's words to her mother that day as I watched Oprah affected me deeply. I nearly cried.
I wished I could somehow reach out to the daughter and tell her that
it was she who should be apologizing to her mother. It was she who
should be asking for forgiveness. It was she who should be dedicating,
not a book, but her
life to the woman who carried her for nine long months and endured agonizing pain to see her safely into the world.
If your mother had done only that, I wanted to tell her,
a life of toiling servitude at her feet could not repay even a single contraction your mother suffered birthing you.
I wanted, too, to ask this single question:
For whose comfort do you think your mother worked so long and hard in her career?
Allah says:
“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none
but Him, and that you be dutiful to your parents. If one or both of them
attain old age in your life, say not to them Uff [a word of disrespect], nor shout at them but address them in terms of honor. And
lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and
say, 'My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I
was young.' Your Lord knows best what is in your inner-selves. If you
are righteous, then, verily, He is Most Forgiving to those who turn
unto Him again and again in obedience, and in repentance.” (17:23-24).
Time and time again we read verses about Allah's mercy and
forgiveness, but it is often not real for us. It is only when we hear
stories like the one about the young new Muslim that we begin to get a
glimpse into that vast world of Allah's compassion for His servants.
When I heard the story of the girl hearing the last verses from
Soorat Al-Fajr before
death, my eyes welled with tears. I longed to hear those Divine words
recited to me. But as I reflected on my life and my shortcomings, I
wondered if I'd be given that gift.
What was it, I wondered,
that she had done that pleased
Allah so much that she earned this momentous blessing? Was there
something—anything—that I could do to earn something similar?
…I thought of my parents, and of the love that the mother must have had when dedicating a book to her daughter.
And I wondered at the regret the mother must have felt when realizing
that her daughter would never understand just how much she loved
her—even when she had no idea how to show it…
If I were to speak to the daughter of the career woman—or to the
daughter or son of an absent father—I could never say you don't have a
right to hurt, a right to cry, a right to wish things were different, or
even that you don't have the right to feel that your father or mother
fell short in their responsibilities to you.
For surely, it is true: Parents are not angels. Parents are
not without sin. And parents, of a certainty, are riddled with faults.
But rest assured, dear soul, I'd like to say,
that Allah knows what you've endured. Allah knows your pain. Allah knows the hurt you nurse in your heart…
“…Your Lord knows best what is in your inner-selves…”
Even if you suffered at their hands something so severe that you had
no choice but to speak up and seek help from others, what harm would it
do, even still, to honor and respect them?
What harm will your being righteous do to you?
“…If you are righteous, then, verily, He is Most
Forgiving to those who turn unto Him again and again in obedience, and
in repentance…”
But she was never there for me.
He was always gone.
Why didn't he try harder?
They should listen more…
But what of our falling short in our responsibilities to
them?
We accept without question the duty of parents to provide, to be kind, to “be there”, and to love us,
regardless….
….Of our temper tantrums, our sudden outbursts, our tumultuous teens….
Regardless of our tendency to rarely, if ever, reach out to
them.
So in those inevitable moments of hurt, when reflecting on the wrongs
of one's parents, why not pray for them? Why not ask Allah to forgive
them?
… “My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy…”
A hadith reports the Prophet,
sallallaahu'alayhi wa sallam, as saying,
“Verily, on the Day of Resurrection, Allah has slaves to whom He will neither speak nor purify nor look at.” When he was asked who these people were, among them was the person
“who disowns or abandons his parents” (Ahmad).
Yet, as we draw ever closer to the Day of Judgment, there are so few
of us who are moved to utter a simple prayer asking Allah's mercy for
our parents, and so many of us who move our tongues endlessly recounting
their faults.
The Prophet,
sallallaahu'alayhi wa sallam, taught that one
of the signs of the Last Day is that a slave girl will give birth to her
master. And, indeed, it seems that that time is upon us…
A mother is given orders by her child. A father is scolded for his
faults. A mother dedicates a book—a life—to a child and is told…
…A meager book could never make up for all I've lost in those years of you not being there…
What, dear child, would you feel, if that book were your Book of Deeds handed to you on the Day of Judgment?
Could your list of transgressions therein—against your parents
and yourself—make up for all that
you lost in not “being there” for your own soul?
And perhaps, you simply saying to your career mother or absent father, “
I love you and will honor you still” would be the cause for every single ink stroke in your Book of sin to be erased – forever – from your account.
And perhaps, too, while your soul is being taken from your body, you
will hear—because of this “meager” good deed—a voice from on high
saying…
“O reassured soul, return to your Lord,
well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], and enter among My [righteous]
servants. And enter My Paradise.”
And perhaps your mother and father will enter with you, too.
http://muslimmatters.org/2012/06/15/umm-zakiyah-are-you-a-sign-of-the-last-day/
had a plan for you before you were born, and He still has a plan for
you. Allah's plan for you is necessary and glorious. His plan is vital
to your success and important to the world.
was disowned by his family and thrown by his people into a blazing
fire; Allah rescued him from that, and made him the father of two
nations.
, the wife of the Prophet 
, was slandered by an ugly lie, but Allah brought the truth to light, and Aishah became a leader and scholar in her own right.
, the companion of the Messenger of Allah 
“Pakistanis are the worst!” a young Desi woman exclaimed wrinkling her nose, “I would never advise
marrying any of them.” The other Pakistani women present nodded in
emphatic agreement while others shook their heads knowingly.
