I often remember my mother. Her smile still appears before my very eyes although she passed away more than fifty years ago. The smile is visible to me in the dark of the night, even if I have my eyes shut.

My mother wove rugs all day.

The sound of the loom echoed in our home like the clatter of hoofs. I woke up early, as usual, and I saw that my mother was awake working. She kept on working after putting us to bed. I was rather worried, for my mother did not take a rest as other mothers did. She would not go out either. It was only after she passed away that I could understand that she worked 

day and night to provide a living for us. She relieved herself of her pains through working. I remember saying to her:

“My dear mother, please have some rest. Look, your hands seem tired.” Then she would take me on her lap and would caress me as if she was hugging and caring for a baby. She would look me in the face, watch me with her dark eyes and smile at me. That smile of hers is still in my heart, mind and world. I always remember the smiles of my mother. How interesting! Neither years nor winds have been able remove that smile from my memory. When I encounter a difficulty, I remember my mother’s smile. That smile spreads throughout my soul and takes away the pain I have. It is as if a hand stretches out and takes the pain away. Like the hero in the tale, I get rid of all my pains then. With the power of the smile, I turn into a little child instead of the old man I am, just like the old man in the tale; my soul flies like a bird in the sky; and I even feel as if I understand the language of all the birds, flowers and other creatures. The sacred light in my mother’s eyes brightens my heart. Then my life becomes sweeter than my mother’s smile. That smile gives me extraordinary powers.

That smile I inherited from my mother is my treasure, my wealth. I can’t find anything worth that smile even if I pay thousands in gold for it. I can’t find it anywhere even if I strive like a treasure hunter.

In fact, people can all have access to these smiles. Your mother who is as valuable as the holy Ka’bah, and your father who is as precious as the Qibla to you have left lots of such smiles to you. It is those smiles that make us live. But it is probable that we may not have understood and appreciated fully the real value of such smiles.

(339-340.)