Provision for the Seekers: A Brief Study of Selected Ahadith (14)

Bismillah Ar-Rehman Ar-Raheem

Mughira b. Shu'ba reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Verity Allah, the Glorious and Majestic, has forbidden for you: disobedience to mothers, and burying alive daughters, withholding the right of others in spite of having the power to return that to them and demanding that (which is not one's legitimate right). And He disapproved three things for you; irrelevant talk, persistent questioning and wasting of wealth. (Sahih Muslim 593f)

The order of commands listed in an ahadith signify its importance. Here the disobedience of the mother is listed as first, and then later comes the sin of killing a life, emphasizing the enormity of how haram it is to disobey one’s mother.

• disobedience to mother → killing daughters → denying debts → taking what's not yours → idle talk and gossip → excessive questioning → wasting money → gossip

You will be questioned for all you knew and did not follow through on, therefore, keep it simple and don't obsess over minor details. Your rizq is imanah, don't waste it on useless things—don't engage in israaf. If you feel suddenly restricted in your rizq, wonder where you usually give in charity but didn't lately or forgot. Allah gives ten-folds of what you give. He constricts if you withhold. be mindful of what you spend of your husband's money.

We are to look at the examples of the prophets that came before us, the care with which they would spoke to their mother, the way they disagreed if there was a need, the way they would care for them, even in situations where they felt unsafe. 

“Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and do good to parents…” (17:23)

There is no obedience to the creation in which there is disobedience to the Creator. Don’t be sneaky or try to bend the laws for your benefit, Allah knows. Lying and backbiting is clearly forbidden, however we shouldn’t share details about others without their consent, especially if you know they won’t like it—which is gossip: to speak about a person in their absence in a way they wouldn't like.