Let's Extol All Mothers

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 13 May 2024 Sab Ne Maana Marne Wala Dahshat-Gard Aur Qaatil Tha Maan Ne Phir Bhi Qabra Pe Us Ki Raaj-Dulara Likkha Tha Ahmad Salman (Everyone agreed that the deceased was a terrorist and a murderer/ Yet, his mother inscribed Raaj-Dulara on his tomb). Kabhi Maan Ko Baccha Apna Bura Nahin Lagta Hai Aakhir Hissa-E-Vajood Ko Koi Kaise Bura Kahta Hai Rauf Ilahabadi (A mother never condemns her child/ After all, who can condemn a part of existence?) Jise Hoti Hai Maan Se Muhabbat Beintiha Aksar Woh Shakhs Bachta Hai Gunaah Se Suhail Panipati (One who loves his mother immensely/ He often avoids crimes and sins) Photo: Pinterest ------ Though Urdu poetry, like the poetry of all tongues, is full of paeans and panegyrics to mothers, there're certain gems that are almost axiomatic like Suhail Panipati's Jise Hoti Hai Maan Se Muhabbat Beintiha...... Psychologists have also come to the conclusion that those who're close to their mothers are often away from crimes. Mothers have an edifying and ennobling influence on their offspring. Way back in 1974, a Pakistani young woman, Munira Abbas, pursued her PhD on Crimes and Parental Love after pursuing M A in Sociology from Multan University. She interviewed 100 criminals on death row. Munira was surprised to find that nearly 80 convicts were deprived of motherly love. This is very important. Billa and Ranga, two dreaded criminals, who were hanged at Tihar Jail in Delhi on January 31, 1982, for brutally killing a Naval officer's children Sanjay and Gita Chopra, didn't get mother's love. Billa's mother died when he was a child. His stepmother would often beat him. Ranga disliked his mother. Even the great English poet Lord Byron, who himself admitted that lack of motherly love hampered his emotional development, rued the fact that he was unloved by his mother. Byron would call his mother Mrs Byron! He had criminal tendencies. That's why, when he died in Missolonghi (Greece) at the age of 36, someone wrote: He left a name to all succeeding times/ Linked with one virtue and a thousand crimes. His only virtue was undoubtedly his immortal poetry. Mothers love their children unconditionally. French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte aptly said towards the fag-end of his distinguished life, "I'm not very sure of god's love for mankind. But I'm sure of a mother's love for her child. It's the only unpretentious love in the whole world." Mother was the pivot of Napoleon's life. Mother's love is indeed the most unadulterated love. That's the reason, mother's love is used as a metaphor for boundless love. Islam believes that Allah has the love of 70 (meaning, a great number) mothers. Paimana-e-Muhabbat Hai Maan Ka Pyaar/ Aaghaaz Bhi Yahi, Ikhtitaam Bhi Yahi (Mother's love is the yardstick of love / It's the beginning and it's also the end). Let's pay tributes to mother's unfathomable love in the words of famous Pakistani Urdu poet Qateel Shifai, "Chahe Jitni Taareef Karo Maan Ki Muhabbat Ki/ Kabhi Thaah Na Paa Sakoge Us Ke Dil Ki" (However hard you may try to extol mother's love/ You won't be able to fathom her heart). So very true. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/extol-mothers-psychologists/d/132306 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism