(Mother of Moulana Muhammad ‘Umar Paalanpuri [rahimahumullah] – Part Three)

The mother of Moulana Muhammad ‘Umar Paalanpuri (rahimahullah) paid special attention to his upbringing and made a continuous effort to instil qualities of piety within him. Hence, she would regularly advise him and teach him important Islamic values.

On one occasion, she mentioned to her son, “When you are placed in the grave, two angels will come to you, and they will ask you three questions.” She then explained the three questions, together with the answers, to her son. Thereafter, on another occasion, when she began to speak to him and caution him regarding the punishment in the grave, he responded, “I have already learnt the questions of the angels and the answers to their questions (so I do not need to worry about punishment in the grave).” Hearing this, she replied, “When you are in the grave, it will not be your tongue of flesh that will speak – it will be the tongue of your actions that will speak (i.e. you will only be able to give the correct answers if your actions and beliefs were in order).”

On another occasion, she advised him saying, “O my son! If you wish to make gheebah of (backbite) any person, then make my gheebah so that your good deeds will at least remain in the home. The reason is that through making my gheebah, your good deeds will be given to me (and if you are going to give your deeds to anyone, at least give them to me).” In giving her son this advice, she did not literally mean that he should engage in backbiting and speak ill of her. Rather, her intention was to instil in his heart the seriousness and danger of this sin.

Once, a certain house was sold in the neighbourhood. On learning that a house was sold, Moulana’s (rahimahullah) mother asked him, “Whose house was sold?” In reply, Moulana (rahimahullah) used the words, “The maalik (owner) of the house is so-and-so.” The moment these words left his mouth, she became upset and reprimanded him saying, “Allah alone is the Maalik (the true owner of everything)! Why did you refer to that person as being the maalik of the house!” Eventually, Moulana (rahimahullah) asked Maryam Khaalah to intercede to his mother on his behalf, and it was only then that her anger subsided.

(Sawaanih Moulana Muhammad ‘Umar Paalanpuri pgs. 60 & 68)

Lessons:

1. It is often said that a child’s first madrasah is his mother’s lap. This can be clearly seen in theupbringing of Moulana Muhammad ‘Umar Paalanpuri (rahimahullah), as his mother continued to entrench the values of imaan and Islam into his heart throughout his childhood, paving the path for his future progress and success.

2. Though what Moulana (rahimahullah) said was not wrong, when he referred to the owner as the ‘maalik’, his mother was so conscious of Allah Ta‘ala that she could not tolerate anyone else being referred to as Maalik. Nevertheless, her conducting in this manner left such an impression on his mind that he would have always been cognisant of Allah Ta‘ala being the true Owner of everything, and this belief would have been cemented into his mind.