My Mother Is Wasting Away, and I'm Considering a Hunger Strike to Help Her
Assalamu alaikum, my mum has lost a dangerously high amount of weight (now 45kg or 99lb). I can clearly see her bones protruding from her back, and she's become so weak that doctors can't even run proper tests on her. They keep advising her to eat more, but nothing seems to change. She works non-stop every day, leaving home at 5:30 AM and not returning until 5 PM, and even then she's busy cooking and doing everything for everyone else. That's just her nature-she gives her all to others and neglects herself. For a whole year, I've been telling her she needs to eat more and stick to a diet plan until she reaches a healthy weight. She says yes, but here we are a year later, and she's borderline anorexic. When I try to get her to eat, she claims she is, but it's only a spoonful and that's it. I even offered financial help so she could take a month off work to establish a proper eating routine, but she refuses. I've tried everything: calm conversations don't work, offers of help don't work-she just keeps going. So now I'm seriously thinking about going on a hunger strike myself until she takes her health seriously. I don't want to be disobedient to my mother or cross any boundaries as her child. Am I going too far? Has anyone else faced this? What would you do? May Allah guide us and grant her shifa.