Mother, what can I give you?

After having reached the height of his career a man felt a duty to repay his mother back for all that she had done for him.

He asked, "Mother, what can I give you? What can I do for you? I sincerely wish to repay you for the sacrifices you made for me and for all the love you have showered upon me."

Mother looked surprised and said, "Why do you think about it? It was my duty so I did it, you don't have to repay me. Even if you want to, there is no way a man can ever repay his mother."

Despite her continuous refusal to ask for anything, the son persisted. To put an end to the discussion, she said, "All right. If you must, then tonight you sleep on my bed, with me, just as you used to when you were a baby."

He said, "That's a strange thing to ask for, but if it pleases you, I will."

As soon as he fell asleep, the mother got up and brought a bucket of water. She poured a mug full of water on his side. Feeling disturbed by the wetness under him, in his sleep he moved away to the other side of the bed. As he settled down, his mother poured another mug of water on the other side. In his slumber he tried to find space towards the foot post of the bed.

Sometime later he woke up feeling that this part of the bed too was damp. He got up and saw his mother, with the mug in her hand. He asked angrily, "What are you doing mother? Why don't you let me sleep? How do you expect me to sleep on a wet bed?"

Mother said, "I slept with you, when you wet the bed in the night. I would change your nappy and move you to the dry part of the bed, while I slept on the wet side. You wanted to repay me. Can you sleep here even for one night with me on a damp bed? If you can, I'll take it that you have repaid me."

How eloquently the story above demonstrates that we can't even begin to repay the care, love and attention a mother showers her child throughout the course of life. May Allah Almighty enable us to be of service and comfort to both our parents when we can and may He grant us sabr to serve them during their old age, ameen.

وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْناً
And We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents [Qur'an 29:8]

Abdullah ibn 'Umar said, "The pleasure of the Lord lies in the pleasure of the parent. The anger of the Lord lies in the anger of the parent." [Al-Adab al-Mufrad by Imam Bukhari]

See also:
No Charge
Mum & Dad poem