| Answer: The basic reason to regard a mother superior to a
father seems to be that generally the sacrifices made and hardships borne by her
easily outnumber the contribution made by her counterpart in this regard. Of
course there may be exceptions to this principle, but they are few and far
between.
The Qur’ān says:
And We have enjoined on man about his parents -- in
travail upon travail did his mother bear him and in two years was his weaning
-- that show gratitude to Me and your parents. (31:14)
And We have enjoined upon man to show kindness to his
parents. In pain did his mother bear him and in pain did she give him birth.
(46:15)
No doubt a father has a great role in the upbringing and
development of his offspring. However, the pain and hardship a mother goes
through before and right after child birth gives her a marked edge over the
father. Consequently, based on these verses, some Ahādīth also say that a
mother’s right is three times as much as a father’s.
Abū Hurayrah reports that once a person came to the
Prophet and asked ‘Who deserves the most virtuous behaviour from me’. The
Prophet replied: ‘Your mother’. The person then inquired: ‘Then who’. The
Prophet replied: ‘Your mother’. The person further inquired: ‘Then who’. The
Prophet replied: ‘Your mother’. The person once again asked: ‘Then who’. The
Prophet replied: ‘Your father’. (Bukhārī, Kitābu’l-Adab) |