Manama: A Saudi man was praised and criticised in equal measures after he welcomed his mother home with unprecedented fanfare.
The man in the oasis town of Sakakah, in northwestern Saudi Arabia, lavishly decorated his van as he drove up to Mitaab Bin Abdul Aziz hospital to take his mother home, wishing her speedy recovery, local news site Sabq reported on Sunday.
Pictures of the van went viral on social media, triggering a wave of support from people who expressed admiration for the way he treated his mother as well as indignation among those who condemned his ostentatious behaviour.
Saeed Al Fahmi said he was praying for the “grateful son.”
“It was a sweet gesture and we appreciate how he made the extra efforts to make his mother happy,” he said, “We pray that he will always be fortunate in his life.”
Faisal said he saluted the son who openly expressed his love for his mother.
“We pray that the love and compassion between you two lasts for a long time,” he said. “We hope that all Muslim sons behave as gratefully towards their parents.”
For Abu Aref, all mothers should be treated with great class.
“His mother is lucky to have him,” he said. “We all need to pamper our mothers and make sure they are happy, elated and satisfied.”
However, Abdullah said that the son should have hosted a luncheon or dinner banquet that would allow a much greater number of people to benefit from his mother’s homecoming.
“He could have bought gifts and handed them other to the needy or he could have bought new furniture for his mother instead of parading himself in the richly decorated car,” he said.
A blogger under the moniker of “Assistance” said he was unhappy with the situation.
“I have noticed that our society is gradually changing and moving towards accepting insignificant attitudes,” Assistant posted. “Such pompous and ostentatious shows do not make any sense. The son could have offered money to the needy and the poor instead of wasting them on decorations that are totally useless,” he said.
On Thursday, Saudis applauded a husband for publicly gifting his wife with a car on her graduation from college.
The elated husband adorned the new car with a congratulations message and drove it to the Northern Borders University to pick up his wife, telling her it was his gift for her.
The public gift to the wife in a highly conservative area prompted Saudis to start a hashtag to pay tribute to the compassion between the spouses and to have an online conversation among social media users.
