Heaven Lies At Foot Of Mother

by Minister Louis Farrakhan


In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

[Editor's note: The following text is excerpted from three previous articles by The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on the Value of Women and Mothers. The original articles appeared in the following issues: Heaven Lies at the Foot of Mother, Vol. 19 No. 44, Sept. 5, 2000; The Value of Mother, Vol. 20 No. 40, July 17, 2001; The Sacredness of the Female originally appeared in Vol. 14 No. 19, July 19, 1995.]

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

"Heaven Lies at the Foot of Mother." This quotation was spoken by Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (Peace Be Upon Him) 1,400 years ago in his great work of reform and civilizing of the Arab people in the days of their ignorance. This quotation is applicable to us as well today. Heaven represents a state of peace where the citizens of heaven live in accordance with the laws, rules, statues, or commandments of Allah (God). This is also called in scripture, the Kingdom of God. Again, it is called the Hereafter. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that the Hereafter means here on the earth after the works of Satan are destroyed. Some Islamic scholars say that the Hereafter is a continuation of this life. Only, it is lived on a higher plane.


In the Qur'an there is a chapter referred to as "The Elevated Places." In the Bible, Allah (God) says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. I am from above while you are from beneath."


It is our disconnection from the thoughts and ways of Allah (God) that cause us to live the hellish life and existence that the people of our planet presently experience. If we believe that heaven lies at the foot of mother, what kind of mother is it that heaven lies at her feet? It is a mother whose heart, mind and soul are fixed on Allah (God), His Thoughts and His Ways that are found in the Words of Allah (God) in the scriptures of the Bible and Qur'an. In order for heaven to be at the woman's foot or mother's foot, mother has to be in complete submission or surrender of her life to the Will of Almighty Allah (God). This becomes exceedingly difficult if the woman is not in the charge of or in the company of a righteous man. Mary was blessed to be this kind of virtuous woman because she was prepared from the womb, but, she was also under the authority of a righteous male figure.


The value of a virtuous woman is more than the value of the wealth of the earth, but, the female and the value of her as a virtuous woman has been devalued by the societies of the earth. To devalue the currency of any nation weakens that nation financially. When the price of gold as a standard of value goes down, then we cannot purchase what we could at the rate when gold had a higher value. The devaluation of the female and the devaluation of virtue in the society has caused us to live on a plane that is far beneath that which we are capable of.


This is why every religion and every society must reevaluate how we look at the females in our society. To think of her as only being valuable for procreation and pleasure is devaluing her. To think of her as not being talented or gifted, that she may be an equal sharer in the development of the society, nation or civilization, is to devalue her. To make her a sex symbol is to devalue her. To show her off before the world in an indecent manner is to devalue her. Rubies have no consciousness and do not know of their value. Neither do diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds. It is we who place a value on these stones. In this world, the man has not given or placed a proper value on the female, and thus, has caused the female to devalue herself. The behavior of our women and our girls demonstrates the thinking of a devalued human, for women to accept to be displayed or kept in an inferior status is to accept the devaluation of herself by the men of this world. Heaven Lies at the Foot of Mother.





Let us look at the attributes of Allah (God) that are found in Surah Al-Fatihah. It starts with "Bismillah, ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim," translated, "In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful." Did you know that every woman is a mercy from Allah (God) to us as men and to the world? Not only is every woman a mercy from Allah (God), but, every woman is a sign of His Beneficence. In her nature is ar-Rahman, Beneficence, and ar-Rahim, Mercy. The next attribute found in the first verse of the Qur'an is, "Al-hamdu lil-lahi Rab-bil 'aalameen," meaning, "Praise Belongs to Allah (God), the Nurturer of each of us, making us to evolve stage after stage until we reach our eventual perfection."


In the womb we start as sperm mixed with ovum, then a clot, an embryo, then a fetus. Who is nurturing ? The mother is. She is Rabb, the nurturer; she is a little Rabb from the Big Rabb (Allah). Her nurturing does not stop when the child comes to birth. She nurtures it from her breast. She nurtures it from her lips. She nurtures it from the warmth of her body. She does not sleep unconscious of the new life. She is not only its nurturer, but, she is its natural protector from the force of death that would kill the new life. She is the first nurse. She is the first teacher. She is Rabb. Rabb means Lord. Rabb means Nurturer. Rabb means Cherisher. Rabb means Evolver. She is all of that.


Then we say, "O Allah, guide us to the straight path." Who is your mother? She is your guide. How can she guide if she does not know? It is in her nature to guide the new life that she has brought onto the planet, which is the furtherance of you and me as men and women. You cannot further yourself; it starts with her. Any woman that will lay down and give you a baby is a mercy from Allah (God) to you, but, little it is that you give thanks. We are an ungrateful people and that ingratitude is shown in the way we treat our women and in the way we treat our mothers.


Sister, you are the guide for your children. Young females that are not yet mothers, you will one day be a mother. You should be preparing now by filling your head with the right kind of knowledge that you can impart to that which you will bring forth onto this planet.


A foundation is that upon which we build. The Earth is a foundation out of which we come. Everything that is on the Earth is built because the Earth is fundamentally sound, except when Allah (God) shakes it. The woman is the foundation upon which civilization is built. We do not judge the degree of civilization of the people by a man. The wise always look at your woman. By looking at your woman, they can tell how highly civilized you are or how uncivilized you are because she is the reflection of your degree of civilization.


To be civilized, according to the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, is one who has knowledge, wisdom, understanding, culture, refinement, the pursuit of happiness, and, is not savage. What is a savage? A savage is a person who has lost the knowledge of themselves and is living the life of a beast or lower animal. Beloved brothers and sisters, you are in the condition of a savage because you have lost the knowledge of yourself. You have been robbed of that knowledge, therefore, you live a life that is not in accord with your nature and your possibilities. You live a life similar to the lower animals.

Any society that increases the knowledge, the wisdom and the understanding of a woman is a society that is on its way up. Any society that denies knowledge, wisdom and understanding to the female is a society that is on its way down, because a woman of knowledge, a woman of wisdom, and a woman of understanding, when you see her, you will see that she is refined in her manners, in her morals, in her speech and in her actions. She represents the highest of culture, and, she will open the door to the pursuit of happiness if she is granted the pursuit of real happiness.





In many societies when a female child is born there is great disappointment and the female is looked down upon as someone so much less than the male, which leads to abuse, the lack of proper care, education, and cultivation of her gifts and talents, and lack of appreciation to Almighty Allah (God) for the gift of women.


The Holy Qur'an teaches us that both male and female have the same essence or come from the essence or being that is Allah, the All Wise God. He has given both male and female complimentary natures, which, if acted on properly help each mate to attain to fulfillment, perfect peace, and full development or perfection.


The disrespect of women is the reason that the earth and the world is in the condition that it is in. There cannot be a new world except that there is a new and better understanding of the female, which will give us (men) a clearer understanding of self and above all a clearer understanding of Allah (God). In the Bible, Allah (God) declares, "Behold, I make all things new." The Honorable Elijah Muhammad has taught us that we cannot bring in a new world except that we accept a new idea that will give us a new way of thinking and that new way of thinking based on an idea and word that comes directly from the Supreme Being will give us His Sight. We need to see life, creation and Allah (God) as He sees Himself and sees His creation. If we can begin to perceive reality as Allah (God) perceives it, then, and only then will we treat Allah (God) and His creatures as they ought to be treated.


It is written in the Holy Qur'an, Surah 2, verse 138, "(We take) Allah's (God's) colour, and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we are His worshippers." Since it is the light of the sun which gives all things their color, then, we who follow the Light (Truth) sent down by Allah (God) begin to see or perceive reality as Allah (God) perceives it. We take His Colouring, which is His View.


What is Allah's (God's) view of the female? She is the manifestation of His attribute of mercy to the world. She is undeserved kindness to us, for, through her we are extended through the generations. It is only through her that we live again, and again, and again. It is only through her that we continue to move toward the true perfection that Allah (God) desires for His creation. She is the cornerstone of the family and therefore is critical in the whole process of nation and world building.


Allah (God) speaks to us in the Holy Qur'an saying that, "we should reverence the womb that bore us." According to Random House Dictionary, reverence is, "a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe, veneration; a gesture indicative of deep respect; an obeisance, a bow, or curtsy."


I repeat, we must reverence the womb that bore us. Since the womb of our mother is sacred, then, this teaches us that the womb of every female is also sacred, for it is from her womb that all the Scientists, Prophets, Sages, Messengers, Kings, Rulers and Gods have come and will come.

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