(Mother of Moulana Muhammad ‘Umar Paalanpuri [rahimahullah] – Part One)

Moulana Muhammad ‘Umar Paalanpuri (rahimahullah) was an illustrious scholar and renowned daa‘ee (preacher) who was born in the year 1929.  His passion for the effort of da’wat and tableegh (an effort to rekindle the spirit of imaan in Muslims) was such that he made no less than eighty-one journeys to foreign countries for the propagation of Deen. Over and above this, Allah Ta‘ala had blessed him to perform hajj twenty times.

Allah Ta‘ala had blessed him with a captivating manner of oration. Hence, he would deliver lectures before tens of thousands of people. Through his lectures, multitudes would be inspired to repent from their wrongs and change the direction of their lives, and they would resolve to sacrifice their wealth, time and lives for the cause of Allah’s Deen.

When Moulana Muhammad ‘Umar Paalanpuri (rahimahullah) was just eight years old, his father, Wazeerud Deen, passed away, leaving him an orphan to be raised by his mother. However, his mother was a very pious woman. Hence, Moulana (rahimahumullah) mentioned that some of his earliest memories, from his childhood, were of his mother performing salaah and weeping before Allah Ta‘ala in du‘aa.

Together with her piety, Allah Ta‘ala had inspired her to raise her son in such a remarkable manner that she can be attributed with moulding him into the man that he became.

Such was her constant concern and commitment to raising her children correctly that she remained watchful at all times, observing their behaviour. When she would bring anything home for her children to enjoy, she would give it to them and instruct them to share it among themselves. She would then observe them to see who displayed signs of greediness or generosity, and she would accordingly correct them and address their weakness.

(Sawaanih Moulana Muhammad ‘Umar Paalanpuri [rahimahullah] pg. 59 and Mithaali Khawaateen pg. 270)

Hereunder we will discuss various inspirational aspects from this great woman’s life.

Lessons:

1. “First impressions are lasting impressions”. When the earliest memories of Moulana Paalanpuri (rahimahullah) were of his mother performing salaah and weeping in du‘aa, we can well imagine the indelible impression it created on his young, innocent mind! Conversely, if a childis raised in an environment of music, movies, loose morals and un-Islamic behaviour, then the resulting ill-effect on the child is obvious.

2. If we want our child to become a pious Muslim, then we will have to start with developing our own piety, as one cannot pass on that which one himself does not possess.

3. Raising a child correctly is a constant occupation. At no time can the parents ‘take a break’, as the child, at every moment, is undergoing some experience that is shaping who he will ultimately become in life.