The status of Maryam is unique, but much of her experience is not. Every single one of us was born to a mother who endured this very same pain. And by that endurance every single mother has earned an honor guaranteed by Islam and unparalleled by any other faith tradition.
Allah says: "And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years – give thanks to Me and to your parents, - unto Me is the final destination" (Qur’an 31:14).
The Qur’an’s commandment to be kind to parents is followed by specific mention of this sacrifice made by the mother. By reminding mankind of the pain that our mothers endured to carry and give birth to us, Allah reminds us of our debt to her.
This debt, as we learn from the "seerah" or biography of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), can almost never fully be repaid. Once Abdullah ibn Umar, a leading scholar among the Prophet’s companions, saw a man from Yemen carrying his mother on his back and going around the Ka’bah in his tawaf (circumambulation). The man asked ibn Umar whether by doing so he had discharged his debt to his mother. Ibn Umar replied: "No. You have not even repaid one single moan that escaped her when she gave birth to you."
This debt to our mothers is so high, that once when a man came to the Prophet Muhammad to join in a military campaign, the Prophet told him to return home and take care of his mother because heaven lies at her feet. In fact, Allah has even connected worship itself with kindness towards parents.
Allah says: "And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, not 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 small’" (17:23-24).
And as we pray for mercy for our parents, we should remember that when each one of us dies, all of our actions will cease to benefit us—except three. Among those three actions is a righteous child who prays for his/her parents. Such a prayer for mercy will reach our parents, even in their graves. And are not these prayers the very least we can give to repay a lifetime of love, pain, and sacrifice?
