The Story of the One-Eyed Mother

Son's Statement:

" My mom only had one eye. I hated her"... she was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students & teachers to support the family. There was this one day during elementary school where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed. How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw her a hateful look and ran out.

The next day at school one of my classmates said, "EEEE, your mom only has one eye!" I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to just disappear. So I confronted her that day and said, " If you're only gonna make me a laughing stock, why don 't you just die?!!!"My mom did not respond...I didn't even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings.

I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with her. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go to Singapore to study. Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts. Then one day, my mother came to visit me. She hadn't seen me in years and she didn't even meet her grandchildren. When she stood by the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited.I screamed at her, "How dare you come to my house and scare my children! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!! "And to this, my mother quietly answered, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address," and she disappeared out of sight.

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house in Singapore. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity. My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have.

Mom's Letter:
"My dearest son, I think of you all the time. I'm sorry that I came to Singapore and scared your children. I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I'm sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up. You see........when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I couldn't stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine. I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye."

With my love to you, Your mother.


http://humblemuslimah.blogspot.com/

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This one made me cry. We take our parents and family for granted, especially our mothers, SubhanAllah.  Just so you know, I love you all (especially Aunty and Mamma)! May Allah (swt) bless you with health and iman (Ameen).

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple and Sincere)

I got this in the mail today: 


Wedding of Hazrat Fatimah (Radi'Allahu Anha) :

Fatimah (Radi'Allahu Anha) is the youngest daughter of our beloved Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Out of all the children, she(R.A) was the most beloved to him(PBUH). Hazrat Muhammad(PBUH) said, "The Queen of the ladies in Jannat is Fatimah(R.A)." Hazrat Muhammad... also said, "Fatimah(R.A) is part of my body. Whoever grieves her, grieves me."

When Fatimah (Radi'Allahu Anha) reached the age of fifteen, proposals for her(R.A) marriage began to come from high and responsible families. But the Prophet (PBUH) remained irresponsive.

Ali (Radi'Allahu Anhu), who was 21 at the time, says: "It occurred to me that I should go and make a formal proposal, but then I thought, 'How could this be accomplished, for I possess nothing.' At last, encouraged by the Prophet's kindness, I went to him and expressed my intention to marry Fatimah (R.A). The Prophet (PBUH) was extremely pleased and asked, 'Ali! Do you possess anything to give her in Mahr?' I replied, 'Apart from a horse and an armour I possess nothing.' The Prophet (PBUH) said, 'A soldier must, of course, have his horse. Go and sell away your armour.'"

So, Ali (R.A) went and sold his armour to Uthmaan (R.A) for 480 Dirham and presented it to Rasulullah (PBUH). Bilaal (R.A) was ordered by the Prophet (PBUH) to bring some perfume and a few other things and Anas (R.A) was sent to call Abu Bakr(R.A), Uthmaan(R.A), Talhah(R.A), Zubayr(R.A) with some companions from the Ansaar (R.A).


When these men arrived and had taken their seats, the Prophet (PBUH) recited the Khutbah (sermon) of Nikaah and gave Fatimah (R.A) in marriage to Ali (R.A). He announced, "Bear you all witness that I have given my daughter Fatimah(R.A) in marriage to Ali for 400 Mithqaal of silver and Ali has accepted." He then raised his head and made Dua saying, "O Allah, create love and harmony between these two. Bless them and bestow upon them good children." After the Nikaah, dates were distributed.

When the time came for Fatimah (R.S) to go to Ali's (R.A) house, she was sent without any clamour, hue and cry accompanied Umm Ayman (R.A). After the 'Isha Salaat, the Prophet (PBUH) went to their house, took permission and entered. He asked for a basin of water, put his blessed hands into it and sprinkled it on both Ali (R.A) and Fatimah (R.A) and made Dua for them.

The sovereign of both worlds gave his beloved daughter a silver bracelet, two Yemeni sheets, four mattresses, one blanket, one pillow, one cup, one hand-grinding mill, one bedstead, a small water skin and a leather pitcher.

In this simple fashion, the wedding of the daughter of the leader of the worlds was solemnised. In following this Sunnah method, a wedding becomes very simple and easy to fulfill. "


We are so involved in doing things that conform to the rules of society, often times falling into haraam. Weddings today consist of expensive halls, with costly food, decor, and big cakes ( I had it all except for the latter).  All those people we invited and the many that we couldn't, are all a distant memory. There are only a handful that we're still in touch with. So much of the focus is on the big day, however, it's the rest of the days that matter the most. All those people, for the pleasures of whom we do all these 'wordly' preparations, just eat, wish you well, give their gift and go home. "The bride looked pretty, the food was too spicy... I'm so tired"...and that's it, it's all forgotten. All that preparation...for what? I wish that weddings would be like that of Fatima (RA), such simplicity and beauty.


Does the amount of money spent on a wedding, reduce the anxiety the bride feels? Does it lessen the bittersweet pain of the brides' parents as they give away their precious daughter? Does the pain lessen if she travels in a stretch limo or an antique from the 60's? Is the groom less nervous in an expensive tux or following the lead of a marching band? Does the sincerity of the guests dua's and well wishes for the couple lessen if there are no more then 20 dishes at the open buffet? Does anyone remember the smell of the fresh flowers strewn all over the ground as the bride made her entrance? Given enough time, do the guests remember what colour the bride wore? Many years later, when sitting in a rocking chair, with her grand-daughter in her lap, will the bride recall the minuscule details of her wedding day? Or will she share the memories, experiences and wisdoms gained from the many years of a beautiful marriage with the man that Allah (SWT) had ordained for her? Forget 'many years later', I can't even remember the colour of the napkins at...what was the name of that wedding hall? May Allah (SWT) guide us and forgive us (Ameen).

Allhumdulillah for the Small Things

The weekend has come and gone. Allhumdulillah it was a good one. I fasted on Thursday, surprisingly it was a very easy fast. The day sped by very quickly, and in the evening R. invited us for dinner. May Allah reward her for preparing such a yummy meal. I'm going to put the veggie recipe on here, Insha'Allah. Friday, we were just chilling at home. It's very rare that we get some 'free' time as a family. There is always so much going on, especially with S. But the moments, we get, however short, should be cherished. May Allah grant us peace and tranquility in our lives (Ameen).

The fasts have been good. Unfortunately, I've only been able to do two. I decided I would do it every other day, as I get really, really drained. The body is not used to it, and I don't want to risk getting sick. Plus, I go to the gym everyday, although I try to slow down the workout on the days of the fast, I am wiped out at the end of the day. I've started my homeschooling too, Allhumdulillah. So all that combined, plus cooking and a very active and demanding baby (Masha'Allah), I just can't seem do it everyday. Insha'Allah if I aim to keep at least 10 fasts a month, then I should be good. May Allah bless me with the strength (Ameen).

As I said, I've started homeschooling. It's the child of a family friend of ours. The school he goes to has it's summer vacation from April to June. They will open back up in July when the rest of his family is vacationing in Pakistan (silly, is it not?) So they've kindly given me the opportunity to school him. Masha'Allah he's a good kid and is very kind towards Heemu ( the most important thing for me, I don't wind a child who will bully my baby or be a bad influence on him). May Allah bless me with the guidance to teach this child well and arouse in him the love of deen (Ameen).

Insha'Allah I will do weekly posts about our homeschooling adventure!

Till then, Ma'a Salaama