Mohammed bin Rashid writes deeply personal letter to his late mother

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has shared one of the most personal messages from his new book, writing to his late mother about childhood breakfasts, horses, journeys to London, acts of charity and a loss that, he says, life never taught him how to overcome.

In A Letter to My Mother, Sheikh Mohammed describes Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan as his “heart, soul, homeland and beloved”, and as the source of his life and the truth behind his success. 

“Life taught me many things, Mother, but it never taught me how to live without you,” he writes.

The letter is part of Letters, the second volume of Sheikh Mohammed’s Life Taught Me, which he launched in September. The book contains 26 letters addressed to his children, family, team, the people of the UAE and the wider world, based on about six decades of public service and leadership. 

Some are addressed to leaders and family members, including President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Others are written to young people, government teams, teachers, parents and future leaders. 

In the latest letter, Sheikh Mohammed remembers Sheikha Latifa not through titles or public position, but through the details of family life: the bread and coffee she prepared in the early morning, their conversations about herbs and horses, the young gazelles they cared for at home and the provisions she distributed to women in need.

He calls her “the rock” on whom his father, the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, relied for 40 years, and remembers her as a woman who treated the sick, fed the poor and cared for orphans.

The letter also returns repeatedly to one phrase: “If only you were with me today.”

He wishes she could see how the country she once watched him leave for distant London had itself become a destination people crossed the world to visit.

He recalls his first journey abroad, when his mother told him he would travel inside a “great bird” across seas to a distant place called London. She bought him his first smart jacket for the journey; he later returned with a gift for her.

“If only you were with me today,” he writes, “to see how your country has become the place people travel to, children dream of visiting and mothers wish for their children.”

Sheikh Mohammed writes that a person may grow older but never outgrow a mother’s prayers, her embrace or her blessings.

“Whoever has a mother is rich,” he writes. “Whoever has a mother has the whole world.”

And then, near the end, comes perhaps the letter’s simplest conclusion:

“Life taught me, Mother, that you are life itself.”

Full text of the letter: A Letter to My Mother

A letter to my heart, my soul, my homeland and my beloved...

To the reason for my existence, the source of my life and the truth behind my success...

To my mother, Latifa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan...

The righteous, kind, pure and devout woman; content with God’s decree and always striving to do good for others.

A letter to my mother, Latifa... who tended to the sick, fed the poor and cared for orphans.

To my mother, Latifa... the rock on whom Rashid bin Saeed relied for 40 years; the embrace that held Maktoum bin Rashid, taught Hamdan, and cared for Mohammed and his brother Ahmed bin Rashid.

A letter to the woman whose prayers have remained with me to this day, and whose blessings have watched over and protected me throughout my life.

If only you were with me today...

If only I could have given you years from my life to add to yours, taken years from my own days to extend yours, given from my own life simply to hear your voice again.

There was something in my mother’s voice that resembled salvation... something that resembled life... something like a prayer rising towards heaven.

If only you were with me today...

If only I could have breakfast again from your hands in those early mornings, your bread, your coffee and the smile on your face.

If only you were with me today...

We would talk about herbs, as we used to. We would talk about horses, as we always did. We would care for the young gazelles that lived in our home.

If only you were with me today...

I would remind you of the first time you told me that I would travel on a long journey to a distant land, inside a great bird that would carry me across seas until we reached that country they called London.

I would remind you of the first smart jacket you bought me for that journey.

I would remind you of the first gift I brought you back from that faraway land.

If only you were with me today...

To see how your country has become the place people travel to; the place children dream of visiting and mothers wish for their children.

If only you were with me today, Mother, my support, the source of my inspiration and my dreams.

Every child grows into a man striving to fulfil the dreams his mother planted in his imagination, then returns to tell her of his work and achievements so that she may be proud of him, and proud of the way she raised him.

If only you were with me today...

I would tell you, one by one, of the dreams I have fulfilled and the achievements we once dreamed of together.

If only you were with me today...

So you could see the fruits of your prayers and blessings, of all the nights you stayed awake and all the sacrifices you made.

If only you were with me today...

With your heart that had room for everyone, and that feared for me more than I ever feared for myself.

If only you were with me today...

With your love, which gave me security in times of hardship, refuge in times of sorrow and rest whenever I was weary.

All of life seemed easier when you were there.

Peace and reassurance were found beside you.

Light and purity were in your face, Mother, my refuge, my security, my faith and my paradise.

If only you were with me today.

Life taught me, Mother, that a person grows older, but never forgets the scent of his mother, never forgets her embrace or the warmth of her heart. He never outgrows the need for her prayers, nor can he ever do without her blessings.

Life taught me, Mother, that you are life itself.

Whoever has a mother is rich.

Whoever has a mother has the whole world.

And whoever loses his mother, my beloved, has lost his world.

Life taught me, Mother, that your voice in the house was the greatest blessing; your words were the greatest school; your touch was the finest healing; and looking into your face was the most beautiful medicine.

Who was like my mother?

Who was like Latifa?

A righteous woman. A giver to charity.

I have never seen anyone as content as she was, nor a heart as patient as hers, nor a face as beautiful as hers, nor generosity and compassion towards the poor and needy like hers.

I know that God loves my mother, and that He loves me because He made her my mother.

If only you were with me today...

I would help you with your charity.

I would accompany you as I did when I was a child, as you distributed provisions to women in need.

I would gather the whole world into your hands so that you could offer it in charity, seeking closeness to the Lord of the earth and the heavens.

If only you were with me today.

Life taught me that a mother’s love never grows old, and that losing her is never forgotten. The days renew that loss, like waves returning to the shore of life, bringing longing and memories back again.

Life taught me many things, Mother.

But it never taught me how to live without you.

Life never taught me, Mother, how to find peace far from you.

Life never taught me how to feel reassured without your prayers for me every morning.

May God have mercy on you, whose face never leaves my heart...

Whose soul never leaves my soul...

And whose memory never leaves my country.