Mothers in the Qur'an: Stories to Share With Your Child

At some point most children ask a version of the same question: "Did you love me before I was born?" It is a lovely opening, and the Qur'an has the best possible answers to it. Allah tells the stories of several mothers in the Qur'an: a mother who dedicated her baby to Him before birth, a mother who trusted Him with her baby on a river, a mother who ran for water in an empty valley. Each one shows a child two things at once: how much a mother loves, and how Allah looks after both of them.

The short answer

• The wife of Imran promised her unborn child to Allah's service. The baby was Maryam (Surah Al Imran 3:35-37).
• The mother of Musa (AS) placed her baby in the river because Allah told her to, and Allah gave him back to her (Surah al-Qasas 28:7-13).
• Asiya, the wife of Fir'awn, took that same baby into her heart and home (28:9).
• Hajar, the mother of Ismail (AS), ran between Safa and Marwah looking for water, and pilgrims still walk her path (Sahih al-Bukhari 3364).
• Maryam, mother of Isa (AS), was cared for by Allah under a palm tree, and her baby spoke from the cradle (Surah Maryam 19:23-30).

Tonight: a five-minute routine

• Pick one mother. For little ones, the mother of Musa (AS) is the easiest start: a basket, a river, a happy ending.
• Tell it from the mother's side. "How do you think she felt when the basket floated away?" Let your child answer.
• Point to Allah's care. Every one of these mothers was afraid, and every one was looked after by Allah.
• Connect it to home. "I prayed for you before you were born too." Only say what is true for your family.
• Say the dua for parents together. Rabbi irhamhuma kama rabbayani saghira, "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small" (17:24).

If some nights you would rather listen together, Sukun Kids is our app: calm, narrated stories of the prophets, companions and great women of Islam, written from the Qur'an and classical tafsir. The full story of Prophet Yusuf (AS) is free, and it is also a story about a family pulled apart and brought back together.

Five mothers in the Qur'an, and what each one teaches

1. The wife of Imran: a promise before birth. While still expecting, she prayed, "My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me" (3:35). When a daughter was born, she named her Maryam and asked Allah to protect her and her children from Shaytan (3:36). Allah "accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner," and placed her in the care of Prophet Zakariya (AS) (3:37). The lesson for a child: a mother's dua starts before you are even born, and Allah hears it. Read the story of Maryam.

2. The mother of Musa (AS): trusting Allah with a basket. Fir'awn had ordered the baby boys of Bani Isra'il to be killed. Allah inspired Musa's mother: "Suckle him; but when you fear for him, cast him into the river and do not fear and do not grieve. Indeed, We will return him to you" (28:7). After she let him go, her heart "became empty," and she nearly gave the secret away until Allah made her heart firm (28:10). She sent his sister to follow the basket (28:11). In the palace, baby Musa refused every nurse, so his sister offered a family who would care for him (28:12), and he came home to his own mother "that she might be content and not grieve and that she would know that the promise of Allah is true" (28:13). Children love the twist, and the sister is a hero too. Read the story of Prophet Musa (AS).

3. Asiya: the mother who chose to love. When the basket reached Fir'awn's palace, it was his wife who spoke up: "A comfort of the eye for me and for you. Do not kill him; perhaps he may benefit us, or we may adopt him as a son" (28:9). Asiya was not Musa's birth mother, but she protected him and raised him in the very palace of the king who wanted him dead, and she believed in Allah. Allah sets her up as an example for all believers (66:11). For children in adoptive, foster or blended families, she is a gentle way to say that a mother's love is not only about who gave birth. Read the story of Asiya.

4. Hajar: the mother who kept going. The longest account is a hadith narrated by Ibn Abbas (Sahih al-Bukhari 3364). Prophet Ibrahim (AS) left Hajar and baby Ismail in the empty valley of Makkah with some dates and a little water. She asked him, "Has Allah ordered you to do so?" He said yes, and she answered, "Then He will not neglect us." Ibrahim (AS) made the dua recorded in the Qur'an for the family he had left "in an uncultivated valley near Your sacred House" (14:37). When the water ran out and the baby grew thirsty, Hajar climbed Safa, then ran across to Marwah, looking for help, seven times. The Prophet ﷺ said this is why pilgrims walk between the two hills. Then Allah sent an angel, and the water of Zamzam came out of the ground. Safa and Marwah are named in the Qur'an as "among the symbols of Allah" (2:158). The lesson: trust Allah, and still do everything you can. Read the story of Prophet Ibrahim (AS).

5. Maryam: a mother alone, and never alone. The baby whose mother had dedicated her to Allah grew up to be a mother herself, chosen by Allah to give birth to Isa (AS) without a father. In the pain of labour she went to the trunk of a palm tree (19:23). She was told not to grieve: Allah had placed a stream beneath her, and if she shook the trunk, fresh ripe dates would fall (19:24-26). When her people questioned her, she pointed to the baby (19:29), and he spoke by Allah's permission: "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah" (19:30). Read the story of Prophet Isa (AS).

Some of these women also appear in our guide to the women of Islam for kids, which tells their stories from a different angle.

What the Qur'an says about every mother

These stories sit inside a bigger message. Allah tells every person to be good to their parents and singles out what a mother goes through: "His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness" (31:14), and "his mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship" (46:15). A man once asked the Prophet ﷺ who most deserved his good company. He answered, "Your mother," three times, and only then, "Your father" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5971). It is a short hadith a child can remember, and fathers can tell it too.

For more duas to say at night, see our guides to bedtime duas for kids and what dua is and how to make it.

Telling these stories by age

• Ages 3 to 5: the mother of Musa (AS) and Hajar. Keep it concrete: the basket, the river, the two hills, the water. End every time with "and Allah looked after them."
• Ages 6 to 7: add the wife of Imran and Asiya. Talk about how a mother can love a baby before it is born, and how Asiya loved a baby who was not hers by birth.
• Ages 8 to 10: add Maryam's story and the ayat about mothers (31:14, 46:15). Ask what they could do this week to make their mother's day easier.

A few things to keep in mind

• Mind your child's situation. Some children have lost a mother, live apart from her, or are raised by a grandmother or another carer. Asiya's story and the dua of 17:24 work for every family; adjust the "connect it to home" step.
• Keep the names the Qur'an keeps. The Qur'an calls them "the wife of Imran" and "the mother of Musa" without giving their names, so there is no need to add any.
• Use the right honorifics. Musa, Ismail, Ibrahim, Zakariya and Isa are prophets (AS). Maryam, Asiya and Hajar are honoured women, but none of them is called a prophet.
• Make room for both parents. These stories honour mothers without taking anything from fathers; Ibrahim (AS) is part of Hajar's story, and the dua of 17:24 is for both.

Where Sukun Kids fits

Full disclosure: Sukun Kids is our app. It narrates the stories of the prophets, companions and great women of Islam, written from the Qur'an, Ibn Kathir and Ma'ariful Qur'an, with read-along text and a sleep timer, for children from about 3 to 10. Start with the free story of Prophet Yusuf (AS), or browse all our Islamic stories for kids, including Musa, Maryam and Asiya. (Qur'an translations are Saheeh International, as shown on Quran.com.)