After God and his Messenger (PBUH), the most beloved and respected persons to a Muslims are their Parents and specially their mothers, as dear Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said that “Paradise lies under the feet of mothers” and in different Surahs in the Holy Quran our Lord has given the mother such status.
In several verses of the Quran, God makes clear that duty, kindness and gratitude towards parents is an essential part of Islam. However, women in Islam, particularly mothers, have been singled out for the upmost respect and devotion. God Himself tells of the hardships involved in motherhood.
“And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination. (Quran 31:14)
In the time of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), a man asked permission to go on a military expedition. The Prophet asked the man if he had a mother, when he replied yes, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), said, “Stay with her because Paradise lies beneath her feet”. What wonderful imagery these words invoke. Mother and child gazing at each other with love and gratitude. Tiny hands closed within larger hands. A touch to the face in times of stress and illness, or the warmth of a loving mother’s voice. Images of mothers nurturing and caring for their children, in health or sickness, in good times, or trying times. Paradise lies at the feet of mothers; but what exactly do these words mean? Simply, the gates of Paradise are open for those who cherish and respect their mothers.
The role of the mother in the Islamic family is as equally important if not more as the role of the father, who is the provider and protector of his family. Not only does she go through both the joys and difficulties of pregnancy and giving birth, she dedicates the whole of her life to nurturing and caring for her children. It is her responsibility to raise and to educate them to be righteous and pious human beings. She cooks, cleans, nurtures and educates, she is also responsible for their spiritual, emotional and physical health and well-being. In return, children owe their mothers care, love, affection, respect and dutifulness. The task God assigned to mothers is large and sometimes overwhelming. Accordingly, the reward for a righteous mother is nothing less than Paradise and in this life, she is esteemed and honored.
Who is Most Worthy of Good Companionship?
A man came to the Prophet (PBUH) asking, ‘Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship?  The Prophet said, your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said, then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’  The Prophet said, then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet replied, then your father.
Only from sayings of dear Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), we are able to understand the importance of mothers in Islam.
A Muslim mother has a valued and dignified role. Her contribution is acknowledged and appreciated. Her unparalleled gifts to the child have been aptly described by Imam Zaynul ‘Abidin (the fourth Shiite Imam PBUH) in Risalatul Huqooq (Treatise on Rights) – The Chapter of Rights.
“It is the right of your mother that you should appreciate that she carried you [in her womb] the way nobody carries anybody. She fed you the fruits of her heart which nobody feeds anybody. She protected you [during pregnancy] with her ears, eyes, hands, legs, hair, limbs, [in short] with her whole being, gladly, cheerfully, and carefully; suffering patiently all the worries, pains, difficulties, and sorrows.”
“Till the hand of God removed you from her and brought you into this world. Then she was most happy, feeding you forgetting her own hunger, clothing you even if she herself had no clothes, giving you milk and water not caring for her own thirst, keeping you in the shade, even if she had to suffer from the heat of the sun, giving you every comfort with her own hardships; lulling you to sleep while keeping herself awake.”
Almighty God says in Sura Ahqaf:
“And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months…” (46:15)
In the holy Quran both parents are mentioned but the mother is singled out as she bears a greater responsibility and ultimately a greater reward.
Imam Zayn al-Abidin (PBUH) was the great grandson of the Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and also a renowned scholar. He used to treat his mother with so much kindness and love as seen in the following narration:
Once he was asked, 'You are the kindest person to your mother, yet we have never seen you eating with her from a single dish.' He replied, 'I fear that my hand would take what her eyes have already seen in the dish, and then I would be disobeying her'.
In other words, he was so careful not to disobey his mother that he would even avoid eating out of the same plate as her (as was and still is the practice in some Middle-Eastern nations). He thought that she would see a morsel and intend to take it, but before she did he might unknowingly take that same morsel and eat it. This is how careful and kind he was to his mother.
All that has preceded shows how the status of mothers - and consequently that of women - is elevated to the highest position in Islam. The honor Islam has given to mothers is beyond that found in any other religion, ideology or culture. This is clear proof of the lofty status of women in Islam.