❓ Question: When a person asked the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him): ‘Who has the greatest right over me?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) replied: “Your mother.” He repeated the question three times. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “Your mother.” The fourth time, he asked: ‘Then who?’ the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “Your father.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (5971); and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2548)] Now, my question is, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said three times: “Your mother” and the fourth time said: “Your father” then why is it said that children belong to the father?
✍🏻 Answer: All praise is due to Allāh alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no Prophet!
It is the wisdom of Allāh – the Exalted – that the lineage of a person runs from the father’s side. Therefore, Allāh – the Exalted – has said in the Holy Qurān: “Call them by [the names of] their fathers.” [Sūrah al-Aḥzāb 33: 5]
From this, it is known that a son should be attributed to his father. Yes, if the father is unknown, then he will be attributed to his mother. He will inherit from his mother, and the mother will inherit from him.
Regarding your question that the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) mentioned the mother’s right three times, and the father’s on the fourth, this is in terms of service. In that the mother endures great hardship in giving birth to the child, from pregnancy to childbirth, risking her life at the time of birth. Then, breastfeeding and enduring all the difficulties of raising the child in childhood.
So, in total, she endures three types of tremendous hardships:
• The hardships of pregnancy,
• The hardships of childbirth,
• The hardships of raising and breastfeeding in childhood.
Therefore, the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) mentioned the mother’s right three times. And another reason is that the father can claim his right to service based on his strength, while the mother is weak and cannot claim it [in this manner]. So, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “The mother’s right is greater.”
In another ḥadīth, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allāh has forbidden you to disobey your mothers.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (2408); Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (593); and others.]
Although disobedience to the father is also not permissible, the mother is specifically mentioned because her right is greater.
And the last of our supplications is that all praise belongs to Allāh – Lord of all the worlds.
📚 Source: Fatāwā Lajnā al-‘Ulamā’ (1/425-426), new edition.
Translated by ‘Imrān (Germany)