MOTHERHOOD...

By Khalid Baig

In April President Clinton gathered an army of former presidents,
state governors, city mayors and hundreds of prominent people from all
50 states to address one of the most pressing problems facing America
today. He brought former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin
Powell, to lead this army. Their task: Solve the problem of 15 million
young Americans who are considered at-risk youth. "They are at risk of
growing up unskilled, unlearned, or, even worse, unloved," said
Powell, who was appointed chairman of President's Summit for America's
Future. The problem has "the potential to explode our society," he
warned.
He was not exaggerating. 15 million in a total population of about 60
million youth is a huge number. Mostly they come from dysfunctional
families and fall victims to the "pathologies and poisons of the
street." Every year 3.4 million of them try drugs. Half a million
attempt suicide. A lot of them will drop out of high school and will
be functionally illiterate in a country with free universal education.
Their sexual mores differ little from those of breeding horses (70%
have done it before the age of 17). Recently a prominent lawyer and
writer, Alan Dershowitz, suggested reducing the age of consent to 15.
(Marriage at that age will, of course, remain illegal). Violent crimes
committed by these youngsters have become such a problem that in May
the Congress passed the Juvenile Crime bill that allows people as
young as 13 to be treated as adults in the criminal justice system.
What is Powell's solution for this daunting problem? He will find
mentors -- adult volunteers who will take care of these children. But
what happened to their own parents? They were not killed in a war, or
by a plague, or some other natural disaster. Their problem is
self-inflicted. Mothers left the home to "realize their full
potential" on the factory floor, in the show room, or in the office. A
society that belittled the task of home-making lost the home-makers.
With the free mixing of men and women in the work place, one thing led
to another. The home was destroyed from both ends.
Life is fun. Home-making is dull. Children are a burden. Now 15
million of them are a burden on the society. It remains to be seen how
a society, whose members could not take care of their own children,
will make them take care of other's children. But the elite team of
American leaders could not bring itself to admitting that the root of
the problem has been in the forcing of the women out of the home.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was a little more candid. In
his 1987 book Perestroika, he mentions the "paradoxical result of our
sincere and politically justified desire to make women equal with men
in everything." He notes: "women no longer have enough time to perform
their everyday duties at home -- housework, the upbringing of children
and the creation of a family atmosphere. We have discovered that many
of our problems -- in children's and young people's behavior, in our
morals, culture and in production -- are partially caused by the
weakening of family ties and slack attitude to family
responsibilities." Hence the question: "what we should do to make it
possible for women to return to their purely womanly mission?"
Well, Gorbachev (and the world), listen to the best Teacher and Guide
for humanity, Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam. He
elevated the women from their status as chattel to the dignity of
being equal servants of Allah with men. Yet their status in society
was not conditioned upon entering man's world. Their most important
task is to take care of the home and children. "Take care of your home
for THAT is your Jihad." (Musnad Ahmed). Jihad is the epitome of
Islamic life. Declaring home-making as Jihad for women is giving it
the highest possible status in an Islamic society.
Not only is it an all-important task, only women are uniquely
qualified to do it. It is not by accident that pregnancy and nursing
are purely feminine tasks. Allah has given women the special talents
and psychological makeup needed to take care of the children. There is
no substitute for mother's milk or mother's love. No one can extract
and bottle motherly compassion. Her patience, kindness, willingness to
sacrifice her own comforts, and her natural affinity for children --
and the children's natural affinity for the mother-- are the key to
successful upbringing of children. A mother understands the children's
problem even when they cannot express it. She can uniquely sense their
needs, both physical and emotional. She can satisfy some of these
herself. For others, children need the father. But even he needs her
insights in discharging his responsibilities in this area. No day care
center or nursery can make up for the absence of the mother and
father. "What the children need for their upbringing is not a poultry
farm," says Mufti Taqi Usmani.
Mothers are the silent workers who are indispensable for building
character of the next generation. A believing mother who understands
the crucial nature of her responsibility, will imbue her children with
faith and moral values, as only she can. She will raise children with
courage, honesty, truthfulness, patience and perseverance, love and
kindness, faith and self-confidence. On the other hand, a society
without mothers and home-makers will produce at-risk youth.
In a way their role is like that of the archer's in the battle of
Uhud. It looked less important, but was the key to the fate of the
entire army. If women hold on to their front, the entire army will
succeed. If they leave it for "greater action" elsewhere, everyone
will lose.

........

Being a mother myself, I found this article to be very informative and honest. In fact, my mother sent this to me ... and Im thankful to have a mother that has reared me with morals and values. I may have gone astray and still do, but because of her ... I know WHO I AM and Im no longer ashamed of it.
To all mothers... HONOUR YOURSELF BY HONOURING YOUR CREATOR. We should try and better character, attain peace and spirituality, purify our hearts and souls and live a concious life .. for the sake of our faith and our children. The children are the future.

Having Azra and Hanaa has brought me so much joy Alhamdulillah <3

They are one of the reasons I must make a positive change in my life...