Inspiring Muslims: 2 Modern Examples of Obeying Mothers in Islam

Today is not Mother’s Day. Celebrating mothers shouldn’t just be limited to one day a year. Alhamdulillah for Islam, where the status of mothers is so high, that your destination to Jannah depends on it. You know the hadith of Rasulallah s.a.w., “Paradise is at the feet of your mother.”

So it’s something to really celebrate when two famous, globally recognized Muslims, who are respected and adored in their respective fields, are quitting their professions to obey their mothers’ wishes.

Respecting Parents in Islam – 2 Stories

Non-Muslims won’t understand these two, but these two have left their professions, the jobs that made them famous and wealthy, for their mothers.

One is a professional mixed martial arts champion and another, a runway international fashion model. Both are the pinnacle of success in their respective careers. Yet both walked away at the height of their careers for the sake of their mothers.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov is a Russian born Muslim from the Muslim area of Dagestan. He is the second Russian UFC champion and the first Muslim UFC champion. His father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, has trained him to be a fighter since he was a child and had coached him throughout his career. Sadly, he passed away due to Covid-19 and did not live to coach him for Khabib’s final fight.

In his victory speech following his last fight at the UFC championship back in October, he made the surprising announcement, “I promised her, this is gonna be my last fight. And if I give my word, I have to follow it.” He left because his mother did not want him to fight without his father.

He left his mixed martial arts (MMA) career as an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion with a record of 29-0. He left as a GOAT (greatest of all time) P4P (pound for pound) UFC lightweight fighter, having not lost a single fight.

In the Muslim world, Khabib is celebrated for being a true Muslim, showing his faith to the global audience, and using his fame as a platform to the world to show what Islam and Muslims are about. Before every fight, he would always say that he will win this fight, Inshaallah. And after every fight he won, he would always say, Alhamdulillah, and point to the sky and with his body language, say that his victory is not due to him but to Allah s.w.t. This is in stark contrast to his opponents, who would have big egos and attribute strengths to themselves.

Khabib has been known to have said, “Non-Muslims don’t read the Quran, don’t read the Hadith. They read you.” He has often advised his fans to respect their own parents which is an important value in Islam.

Halima Aden

Halima Aden, a Somali-American, was born in a refugee camp in Kenya and moved to the US with her family as a child, with the help of UNICEF. At the age of 19, back in 2016, she made history when she entered a beauty pageant competition, Miss Minnesota pageantry, wearing a hijab throughout the competition, and a burkini (fully covered swimwear) during the swimwear beauty contest.

Halima received national attention, and the famous modeling agency, IMG Models signed her up. Since then, she has graced glossy covers of fashion magazines, such as Vogue, as well as modelled at fashion shows.

Her mission to enter the Western fashion industry is to have hijab accepted into Western society, where hijabi women are not normally shown by the media. With the media attention that Halima gets, she has also put it to good use as a UNICEF ambassador, giving back to the organization that had helped her family.

Despite her success in her modelling career, her mother didn’t really approve of her career path. Her mother’s biggest concern for Halima was over her ‘deen’ (her religion, way of life) and she felt that being a fashion model is not the path to strengthen her faith.

In an interview with AlJazeera, her mom specifically asked her to get a job instead of modelling. The full interview can be viewed in the video below.

In a series of Instagram posts and stories with the theme ‘Deen over Dunya‘, she cited her leaving the fashion industry to maintain her faith. During her modelling career she had to endure missing her prayers (solah), and compromising on her hijab, among others. She also credited her mothe being the strength behind her decision.

Status of Mothers in the Quran

There are several verses in the Quran that reveals the importance of parents. Allah s.w.t. has commanded His believers to be grateful to Him (Allah s.w.t) and to both) parents. in the Quran, surah Luqman (ch 31, v 14-15).

In other surahs of the Quran, Allah has commanded believers to be kind to parents in surah Al-Isra (ch17 v23-24) and in surah Al-Ankabut (ch 29 v8).

However, in a hadith of Rasulallah s.w., the status of mother is three times higher than the father.

Even when we are old, our mothers never stop worrying about us and ultimately, they only want the best for us. So take notes from these two inspiring Muslims, and listen to your mother’s advice.

Farah I, Writer & Researcher

Farah Ishak is a Content Writer at Halalop. She grew up in the United Kingdom where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Management. Later, she completed her MBA and held senior-level positions in Malaysian based MNC. She left the corporate world to be with her young kids. She is passionate about issues concerning Muslim women, Startups and Muslim businesses in general.