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What Does the Quran Say About Mothers?

Mothers are mentioned in the Quran in these verses:

 

[2:233] Divorced mothers shall nurse their infants two full years, if the father so wishes. The father shall provide the mother’s food and clothing equitably. No one shall be burdened beyond his ability. No mother shall be harmed on account of her infant, nor shall the father be harmed because of his infant. (If the father dies), his inheritor shall assume these responsibilities. If the infant’s parents mutually agree to part, after due consultation, they commit no error by doing so. You commit no error by hiring nursing mothers, so long as you pay them equitably. You shall observe God, and know that God is Seer of everything you do.

[4:3] If you deem it best for the orphans, you may marry their mothers – you may marry two, three, or four. If you fear lest you become unfair, then you shall be content with only one, or with what you already have. Additionally, you are thus more likely to avoid financial hardship.

[4:23] Prohibited for you (in marriage) are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, the sisters of your fathers, the sisters of your mothers, the daughters of your brother, the daughters of your sister, your nursing mothers, the girls who nursed from the same woman as you, the mothers of your wives, the daughters of your wives with whom you have consummated the marriage – if the marriage has not been consummated, you may marry the daughter. Also prohibited for you are the women who were married to your genetic sons. Also, you shall not be married to two sisters at the same time – but do not break up existing marriages. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful.

[16:78] God brought you out of your mothers’ bellies knowing nothing, and He gave you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brains, that you may be appreciative.

[24:61] The blind is not to be blamed, the crippled is not to be blamed, nor is the handicapped to be blamed, just as you are not to be blamed for eating at your homes, or the homes of your fathers, or the homes of your mothers, or the homes of your brothers, or the homes of your sisters, or the homes of your fathers’ brothers, or the homes of your fathers’ sisters, or the homes of your mothers’ brothers, or the homes of your mothers’ sisters, or the homes that belong to you and you possess their keys, or the homes of your friends. You commit nothing wrong by eating together or as individuals. When you enter any home, you shall greet each other a greeting from God that is blessed and good. God thus explains the revelations for you, that you may understand.

[28:12] We forbade him from accepting all the nursing mothers. (His sister) then said, “I can show you a family that can raise him for you, and take good care of him.”

[33:4] God did not give any man two hearts in his chest. Nor did He turn your wives whom you estrange (according to your custom) into your mothers. Nor did He turn your adopted children into genetic offspring. All these are mere utterances that you have invented. God speaks the truth, and He guides in the (right) path.

[33:5] You shall give your adopted children names that preserve their relationship to their genetic parents. This is more equitable in the sight of God. If you do not know their parents, then, as your brethren in religion, you shall treat them as members of your family. You do not commit a sin if you make a mistake in this respect; you are responsible for your purposeful intentions. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful.

[33:6] The prophet is closer to the believers than they are to each other, and his wives are like mothers to them. The relatives ought to take care of one another in accordance with God’s scripture. Thus, the believers shall take care of their relatives who immigrate to them, provided they have taken care of their own families first. These are commandments of this scripture.

[39:6] He created you from one person, then created from him his mate. He sent down to you eight kinds of livestock. He creates you in your mothers’ bellies, creation after creation, in trimesters of darkness. Such is God your Lord. To Him belongs all sovereignty. There is no other god beside Him. How could you deviate?

[53:32] They avoid gross sins and transgressions, except for minor offenses. Your Lord’s forgiveness is immense. He has been fully aware of you since He initiated you from the earth, and while you were embryos in your mothers’ bellies. Therefore, do not exalt yourselves; He is fully aware of the righteous.

[58:2] Those among you who estrange their wives (by declaring them as forbidden in sex) as their mothers know full well that they are not their mothers. Their mothers are the women who gave birth to them. Indeed, they are committing a blasphemy and a falsehood. God is Pardoner, Forgiver.

 

To learn more, read the Quran in English.

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