~Proud to be Mother~

Mom
you are a moon dancing inside my heart
Dad You area sun warming my heart
Dad MomI love you both Like I love jannah (paradise)
May Allah kiss mom dad In His beauty paradise Later
(Faiz January 2002)

My beloved mom MomYou always by my side

You always inside my heart You smiles are the moon

Your dedication like the sun which always give the light

And your love is the air Which I breath everyday

Even if you’re in sad Even you’re in difficulty

You steps firmly To make me be a great man
Thanks you my beloved mom
(Faiz November 2002)

Mom only wrote few poems for me

but more I observe her

her smiles are poems her sights are poems her advice are poems

her caress and her prays are love poems

which are conveyed for me continuously continuously

even when I sleep
(Faiz May 2003)

Mom you the one who lead meto the butterfly way.
(Faiz September 2003)

Those poems is my bad translation from a beautiful mind of Abdurrahman Faiz. It touch me so much when the first time read his poems. I found his poems accidentally when I was browsing. They are not that special if those poems were written by an adult or a famous poet. But it does really capture my heart because that’s written by a very young boy. Faiz was born in Jakarta 15 November 1995.

Anyone who read his poems could feel how much he loves his mother, really a pure love, a sincere love, not a fake love, not just merely an arrangement of beautiful words, because it come from the core of heart an innocent young boy. I guess he could reflect his loves to his mom because he feel love from her, because he proud of her.

It’s a dream of every mother to have such devote son. We cannot find any formal education institution [even the highest degree education] to teach someone how to make the children love their mom. Love also cannot be forced by an order, because love is a unique bond of heart that grows through the process. I believe children love their mom because they feel a sincere affections, caring, protection, comforts, warm, tenderness, etc from a mother through intense interactions.

In history, we know Imam Abu Hanifah RA. He was known as a scholar that devoted to his mom. He used to walk for miles to escort his mom lead by his hand his mom’s donkey just to satisfy her wish to pray behind another scholar that she thought better than Abu Hanifah. Sometimes He also had to company her to meet some scholars to ask thins when his mom didn’t satisfy with his answers [even if those scholars themselves didn’t feel more capable than Abu Hanifa]. I believe Imam Abu Hanifah felt a great care and affection of a mom. That love which grew a love and devotion to his mother sincerely.

Somehow, we feel secure if anytime we could see our mother around. The first person that we want to meet when we arrived in home from school, sometimes we haven’t put our bag or changed our clothes, but we just search where is she. When we find her, we just happy to see her smiles, we always enthusiasm to know what she cooked for that day and always enjoy her companion during the lunch to tell about our school, our friends etc. She also the first person we want to share if we sad, the first person that we want to share if we are in trouble. She is someone who always supports us when we are down, someone who will cry for us when we are sick. If there is someone who always prays whole of time for our goodness unconditionally, that is a mom. If there is someone who would sacrifice anything for us, that is our mom.

We know many great people, and their mom contributed a lot for their success, just the history didnt record their names.

We know Imam Malik bin Anas RA very well, but we almost do not know anything about his mother. In fact, his mother took a big path for his success.

One night Imam Malik’s father asked few questions about religions to all family members. All people can answer him very well except imam Malik. At that time, he was just 10 year old, although he already memorized the holly Qur’an and some hadist, he just like other kids who spent a lot of time to play – and still had difficult time to understand complex things. His father got furious and said Imam Malik spent his time too much for play with his bird that made him forget to study. He cried, he rarely cried, but that matter made him sad. The first person he searched was his mother. He had a great mother. He came to her for protection, and asked advice for all his matters.

Start from that day his mom always wake up every morning, bathed him, prepared nice clothes, applied some perfume and put “sorban” on his head then companied him to a halaqoh [religious gathering]. His mom always supported him and accompanied him anytime. That habit made Imam Malik known as a prominent scholar who always had good smell and wore nice dress anytime he attended the halaqoh or taught in halaqoh

We know Imam Syafi’i, but we do not know very well who his mother. Imam Syafi’i was from a poor family and his dad often left him to work far away, and just in very young, his dad passed away. His mom had to be a single parent for 2-year-old boy. She was very faithful woman [memorize Quran, hadist and knowledgeable in many syar’i matters] and Imam syafi’i always follow her advice and always search her advise. She sent him to study in some scholars. She invested anything to his educations, to provide things for his journeys in search of knowledge.

Be a good mother is not profession but rather a responsibility for every muslimah. But a choice just have title as “a housewife” indeed really a generous choice [because not all woman can do that – see Japan, France, etc…. They have less young people...perhaps in the crisis of young generation].

If we considered “be a mother” as a professional career, this is a career that needs to be paid very expensively. A government should provide a big salary for any women who devote their life for this. Because be a mother is really a unique profession, 24 hours works, demand the totality of physically and emotionally. They have to have a solid concept and the best method how to product the best generations. They have to have multi talents, smart, well educated, beside they also have to able behave multi characters, sometimes they need be parent, friend, sister, counselor, accountant, doctor, good chef, etc.

The quality of their works would be significant for the glorious of a nation. If they product the best generations, then they will lead the best nation. They have to sincere if people will never know them; even many people would consider they are nothing. They just feel inner satisfaction when they see the result of their hard work, a robbani generation with good behaviors, pious, wise, intelligent, and tough.

Anyway….it’s better our children think we are their world – the most loveable person, think that we the most precious person, but the world doesn’t know who we are, rather than all the world know us, all the world love us… but in front of our children.. They don’t know “who we are”.

Bandung 5 September 2004

Rytha

For my mom and all my sisters in Islam who choose be mother,…..feel proud of it…

And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him, and in years twain was his weaning: (hear the command), "Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents: to Me is (thy final) Goal. [Luqman HQ 31:14]

HR BUKHARI Volume 8, Book 73, Number 2:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
A man came to Allah's Apostle and said,
"O Allah's Apostle! Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?"
The Prophet said, "Your mother."
The man said. "Who is next?" T
he Prophet said, "Your mother."
The man further said, "Who is next?"
The Prophet said, "Your mother."
The man asked for the fourth time, "Who is next?"
The Prophet said, "Your father. "

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 41:
Narrated Abdullah bin Masud:
I asked Allah's Apostle, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the best deed?"
He replied, "To offer the prayers at their early stated fixed times."
I asked, "What is next in goodness?"
He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents."
I further asked, what is next in goodness?"
He replied, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause."
I did not ask Allah's Apostle anymore and if I had asked him more, he would have told me more.

HR BUKHARI Volume 8, Book 73, Number 6:
Narrated Al-Mughira:
The Prophet said, "Allah has forbidden you
(1) to be undutiful to your mothers
(2) to withhold (what you should give) or
(3) demand (what you do not deserve), and
(4) to bury your daughters alive.
And Allah has disliked that
(A)you talk too much about others
(B)ask too many questions (in religion), or
(C)waste your property."