Following the death of the father, the son took his mother to stay at an elderly care home and started visiting her frequently. One time, he received a phone call from the home telling him that his mother was dying.
He hurried to the care home to see her before she passes away, and asked her: “What do you want me to do for you?” His mother replied: “I want you to install electric fans in the home, bring fridges to keep food fresh because I have spent many days without dinner.” The son wondered: “But You’ve never complained before! Why are you asking for that now?”
The mother replied sadly:” Yes son, I’ve never complained because I got used to the bad weather and huger. But I fear that you will not, when your children bring you here when you become an old man.
Those were the last words of Hassan’s mother before her death at the age of 78.
Magdy Salem, the care home’s manager tells us her story. “Hassan’s mother was a mother to all the residents. Her son brought her 12 years ago when he said he was unable to provide care for her. The mother, however, said that his wife did not welcome her and refused to care for her. The wife also wanted to take the apartment of Hassan’s mother. The son visited her frequently and she used to pray for him and never hated his wife. She was a pious woman.”
“We didn’t know much about her life before joining the home. She asked to see her son hours before her death and asked him to bring many things to the place so he can use them when his children bring him here at his last years. He went out crying, flocked by the resident’s prayers. He did not attend the funeral of his mother who died hours after his departure.”
In one room at the home, lives the 72-year-old Haj Salah, a.k.a. Abu Sherif, doing nothing but praying and asking God for forgiveness.
Asking him about his admission to the home, Abu Sherif, who fathers three children; Sherif, Sahar and Mohamed, said: “What can I say… about the injustice and cruelty of my children. I am not angry at them. I knew that one day this was going to happen. I used to do the same with my mother. I threw her out of our house to the street. I also beat her. God always make us pay back even if our victims are dead. We reap what we sow. Now, I ask for nothing but God’s forgiveness before my death. I really wish that my grandchildren would never do the same to their parents when they grow older.”
“One day, I quarreled with my mother. I threw her out f the house. That time, she never came back. She stayed with her sister for four years until she died. I was relieved. I never saw her again and couldn’t ask her to forgive me. Since then, I knew that God will not have mercy upon me.”
Salah leaved with his children. He never got married after his wife’s death at the age of 65.  His older son helped him in his bakery, then got married. “He used to mistreat me. I was not surprised because this is how I brought them up. They saw me beating my mother, but I never expected him to convince his brother and sister to bring me here!!”
Salah’s children never visit him at the home. However, he always advises the visitors to be kind to their parents and families while asking God to forgive him for all that he did.
Youssef Zaki, a 42-years-old permanent visitor, was surprised by “those who mistreat their families”.
“A mother represents the love that never fades. Everybody changes but mothers never do. If a mother dies, no one could ever replace her. I can’t believe what people do to their mothers or parents.”
“My grandfather used to tell me that as long as you make your mother happy, life will give you happiness too. When you enjoy your parents and family’s acceptance, all people will respect you. Paradise is under the feet of mothers so how come we don’t appreciate them?” Zaki added.