Random Short Stories

The Patience and Prayers of a Mother

This incident was taken from the lecture of the head of the Department of Cardiology at a major

hospital in Saudi Arabia:

It was Tuesday when I carried out the operation on the child. The next day, his health was a bit better

and he was playing. At 11.15 am on Thursday, the nurse came to me crying out: Doctor, doctor! The

child has stopped breathing! It seems his heart has stopped working! I immediately rushed to see him

and started gently massaging his chest for about 45 minutes but did not get any heartbeat. However,

Allah, the Lord of Honor, granted him a new lease on life and his heart gradually started beating

again. I thanked Allah Almighty and when I was completely satisfied with his condition, I looked for

his relatives to tell them what had happened.

Alhamdulillah, O Allah! If there is any good in my childs life, please grant him life.

It is always difficult to tell parents about the condition of their sickly children. When I later found his

mother I told her that her sons heart had stopped beating and that I had thought he was clinically

dead.

Some mothers react badly to such news and would often cry and wail and blame the doctor. But this

great lady did not cry. Instead, she listened to me with great patience and only said Al-Hamdulillah

(Praise be to Allah). Then she left.

The child was in the intensive care unit. When he moved slightly after ten days, we thanked Allah

that he was regaining consciousness. But around twelve days later, his heart stopped beating again.

We gave him cardiac massage for 45 minutes, but there was no heartbeat. I told his mother that there

were few signs of hope.

When his mother heard this, she said Al-Hamdulillah (Praise be to God) instead of weeping and

wailing. She raised her face heavenwards and prayed: O Allah! If there is any good in the recovery of

my child, please cure him. Miraculously, his heart started beating once again, much to our relief. We

thanked Allah. You can imagine how happy his mother must have been.

Over the following days and weeks the childs heath fluctuated, sometimes improving and other

times deteriorating. But his mother seemed resigned to the decree of Allah. Most of her time was

spent in dua (supplication).

After three-and-a-half months, the child was still in the intensive care unit and developed swelling on

his brain. A team of doctors constantly attended to him but his condition grew critical and it seemed

impossible he would survive. I was in charge of the intensive care unit and started preparing his

mother mentally for the bad news that he might not survive. Even if he does not suffer a heart attack,

he has developed a swelling in the head which poses a serious threat to his life, I told her.

I recognized the child we had treated. He was like a blooming beautiful flower, healthy and lively,

free of disease, playing beside his parents.

Again the woman said, Alhamdulillah before she left me. I noticed that she had a very deep

attachment to Allah. Her words, O Allah, if there is any good in the recovery of my child, please cure

him were enough to prove her unshakeable faith in Allah. I had never seen such a woman in 23 years

of service at the hospital.

Then one day the child suffered renal failure. We were certain that this time he would not survive. I

again plucked up the courage to inform the mother, but as usual, she said, Alhamdulillah.

The child struggled for about four months when all of a sudden he contracted a strange disease,

which I had never treated in my entire medical career. We, the doctors, were very worried because his

chest started swelling. We tried everything we could, but his health deteriorated. I told his mother that

there was no way we could save him. She said, as always, Alhamdulillah and added: O Allah! If

there is any good in my childs life, please grant him life.

After six months the child was unable to move, speak, hear or see. But his mother, a paragon of

patience, still clung onto him and prayed for his recovery.

She has never missed tahajjud prayer without a valid excuse. Ive never heard her lying, insulting or

making fun of anyone. She always prays for me and for barakah (blessings)

After eight long months, all her prayers finally bore fruit, the boy recovered completely. He was

soon seen playing and running at her side. It was hard to believe that he had ever been in such a

critical state.

After one-and-a-half years, a colleague of mine at the hospital informed me that a husband and wife

with their two children were sitting in the waiting room to see me. When I asked him who they were,

he said he did not know. When I went to them, I recognized the child we had treated. He was like a

blooming beautiful flower, healthy and lively, free of disease, playing beside his parents. His newborn

brother was being held by his mother. The parents had come to thank me. Pointing to the newborn, I

asked them in good humor whether he was their thirteenth or fourteenth child.

The father said to me that their eldest boy had been born after 17 years of marriage. I took him into

another room and told him privately that I had never seen such a patient and grateful lady as his wife.

Allah Almighty blessed them with a beautiful child after 17 years who was chronically ill, but she had

shown unmatched affection, diligence and courage while taking care of him.

Her husband held my hand and said that he had married her 19 years ago. She has never missed

tahajjud prayer without a valid excuse. I have never heard her telling a lie, insulting or making fun of

anyone. Whenever I get home, she receives me warmly. She always prays for me and for barakah

(blessings). He said he would never marry a second woman because of the God-fearing nature of his

wife. I could not bring myself to break her heart, the husband said. This was the answer to the

question I wanted to ask him. I was stunned into silence.

Subhana Allah. This story is a touching story. May Allah(A.W) assist those who are going through difficulties and cure all those who are sick and grant them patience and forgiveness. Ameen.

Shukran. Jazakumu Allahu kheir.