وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُونَ
yet most men are not grateful. 12:38
My mom's best friend from school is going through a difficult time. Her husband passed away a couple of years ago. (May Allah grant him maghfirah) She's a single mom to a son in university. Her only source of income is her rent from the basement. And for the last month, they haven't had any tenants. That means they'll have to adjust without the 9k they got as rent.
Alhamdulillah, she's quite educated. She used to teach kids at home. Her son complained that it affected his studies, so she decided to stop that as well. That again meant a large reduction in the income to run the house. But son's education comes first, right? Last month, she had to deposit the fees for her son's second year in university - and of all the money she collected from concerned friends and family, she was short by Rs 5000. She told my mom how she pawned her gold necklace for the loan. Can you imagine being that short on money?
Ammi asked her about clothes. Where do you buy them from? She mentioned they haven't bought new clothes for years. She wears whatever my aunt gives her, and my cousins are around the same age as the son - so he gets their clothes. When was the last time we bought new clothes? And we remembered to thank Allah for it?
She hasn't been feeling well either. Trips to the doctor's office are part of the normal routine. To her that's an additional expense. Can you imagine having second thoughts about going to the doctor? And thinking about how much you can save by cutting down medication?
And here's the hardest part: When the son was considering different schools - he debated between an expensive school and a regular one. His mom frankly told him that they won't be able to afford the expensive one. And he replied to her that if his dad was alive, he would have made sure his son went to the expensive school. Imagine how hurt the mom must have been? She has given up everything for her son. She prays day in and day out for her son.
Have we been thankful to our parents? Expressed the thankfulness in words, actions, or even by praying for them?
[The purpose of the post was reflection. Now I'm tempted to add a request to it: If anyone of you would like to help her out, please let me know. I'll personally make sure she gets the entire amount. Also let me know what you'd like to spend it towards - eid git/ son's education/ grocery]
4 comments:
Pagal!! Why didn't you tell me? See... I'm glad I didn't shut down google reader like I was telling you this morning.
I read the ayah first and I was already in tears before I reached the end of the post..
Seriously the mom should tell her son to find a job and support himself partially.
For those considering donating- I think the money should totally go towards her health. BUT, who's going to make sure she goes to the doc?
humairah, we had spoken about this aunty a while back. (trust me- if there's anything you should know, my blog's the last place you'd read about it. Alhamdulillah to the 10001 ways we communicate.)
May Allah give the son the taufeeq to accept his responsibilities, and to lift the load off his mother, ameen
Yes, but not the part about donations
I do remember you telling me about her :)
I am here to serve. :)
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