Mohammed bin Rashid in “My Story” tells unforgettable stories with his mother

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, narrated his mother’s biography in lines that summarize many years in two chapters, “Latifa 1” and “Latifa 2”:

Nice 2
Nizar Qabbani says in his eulogy for his life partner, Balqis:

Belqis..
She was the most beautiful queen in the history of Babylon
Belqis..
It was the tallest palm tree in Iraq
If she was walking…
Accompanied by peacocks…
Deer follow it

These verses reminded me of my mother, Sheikha Latifa. I used to see her when I was young. I remember her walking behind her, a group of deer that had taken care of her since she was young, accompanying her and following her wherever she went. My mother was a princess and beautiful. My mother was the most beautiful queen. My mother had the tallest palm trees. Whenever she walked, a deer would accompany her, and the Most Merciful’s care would follow her.

The first gift I gave my mother was when I was about seven years old. I was on a trip with Humaid bin Amhi. He teaches me the arts of hunting and survival skills in the desert. One time, I saw a baby deer whose mother had recently given birth and separated from him. Usually, the female deer separates from the herd to give birth to her calf. But sometimes she panics when she wants to return to the herd, leaving him an orphan. I was with Hamid’s wife, Naqba. I went to him and hugged him, and we waited for his mother to return to him. The mother is no longer. We waited until sunset. The mother is no longer. I remained hugging the deer, and I knew who would compensate him for the loss of his mother: my mother. My mother loves deer. My mother gave me life, and she will give it back.

My father came with a group of men, and after Hamid gave the gifts that my mother had prepared for his family, he took me with the deer in my arms. I told the men his story, and told them he was a gift.

I arrived home after a long absence from my mother. After greetings and hugs, I gave her the deer. I was very happy with him. My joy was greater. When you give an unexpected gift to someone you love and they are happy with it, your joy is greater. Her smile was life; It was the most beautiful thing in life.

Who looks like you, mom? Who’s like my mother?
There are many moments I will never forget with my mother.

I still remember sitting on her lap, telling me about my first trip to London. She talks to me about a strange country and an adventure that awaits me to travel there, in the belly of a large bird that will take me across an ocean that extends as far as the eye can see. I was looking at her in amazement as she told me that we would sleep in a high-rise building, because the weather in that country is suitable for sleeping indoors, and not like we do in Dubai, when we sleep on the roof in the summer.

The first astonishment that you cannot forget. The first piece of information you cannot forget. Moments of learning new things are unforgettable. I will never forget the moments of my mother’s beautiful conversation either.
I don’t forget that I didn’t sleep the night my mother told me that I was going to London. That was in 1959, about a year after my father took power.

My mother bought me two new kandoras and an elegant jacket for travel. I was happy. I now have four canadirs. I suggested to my mother that we cut down the two old condors to use when riding horses and camels. She told me them and she was happy. She was happy with everything that made me happy.

Who is like you, mom? Who looks like you, mom?