Devotion to Mother

Bayazid Bostami waits through a cold night rather than wake his sleeping mother.

The story begins: Bayazid Bostami was a great saint. When he was a boy, his mother fell ill one night. She asked him for a glass of water. Bayazid went to fetch it, but found that there was no water in the house.

The Story

Bayazid Bostami, who became a great saint, was as a boy known chiefly for his devotion to his mother. He was her only son, and after his father's death the two lived alone together.

One winter night his mother fell ill with a fever. She woke Bayazid and asked him for a glass of water, for her throat was dry and she could not sleep.

The boy rose at once and went to the water pot, but the pot was empty. He took the jar and went out into the cold night to the well, though it was far from the house and the path was dark.

When he returned with the water, his mother had fallen asleep. Bayazid did not wake her. He stood beside her bed with the glass in his hand, waiting for her to open her eyes and ask again.

The night was bitterly cold and his hands grew numb, but he did not move. Hour after hour passed, and still he stood there holding the water, unwilling to disturb her rest for his own comfort.

When at last the morning came, his mother woke and saw him standing there, stiff with cold and hardly able to hold the glass. She asked him how long he had stood, and he told her the truth.

Tears came into her eyes. She took the water from his hand, drank it, and blessed him with all her heart. "May God make you great," she said, "as you have been good to me."

Her blessing was fulfilled. Bayazid grew up to be one of the greatest saints of his age, and men came from far countries to hear him. When they asked him how he had attained such greatness, he would answer that he owed everything to his mother's blessing.

Moral: Devotion to one's mother is the highest of virtues.