وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۖ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ كُرْهًا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا ۖ وَحَمْلُهُۥ وَفِصَـٰلُهُۥ ثَلَـٰثُونَ شَهْرًا ۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَـٰلِحًا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِى فِى ذُرِّيَّتِىٓ ۖ إِنِّى تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ 15
Translations
And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims."
Transliteration
Wa wassayna al-insana bi-waliday-hi ihsanan. Hamalatwhu ummuhu kurhan wa wada'atwhu kurhan. Wa hamluhu wa fisaluhu thalathuna shahran. Hatta idha balagha ashudduhu wa balagha arba'ina sanatan qala rabbi awzi'ni an ashkura ni'mataka allatee an'amta alayya wa 'ala waliday-ya wa an a'mala salihan tardahu wa aslih li fi dhurriyyati. Inni tubthu ilayka wa inni mina al-muslimin.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah enjoins humans to show kindness and gratitude to their parents, emphasizing the mother's struggle through pregnancy and childbirth ('kurhan' - with hardship and difficulty). It establishes a timeline of 30 months for gestation and weaning, and depicts a righteous person who, upon reaching maturity and 40 years of age, recognizes Allah's blessings upon himself and his parents, and commits to gratitude, righteous deeds, and seeking Allah's pleasure. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir note that this passage illustrates the spiritual culmination of human development, where wisdom and recognition of divine blessings typically emerge.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Ahqaf is a Meccan surah that addresses the rejection of the Quran and emphasis on obedience to Allah. This particular ayah fits within the broader Meccan theme of affirming monotheism and moral obligations. While no specific asbab al-nuzul (revelation context) is narrated for this ayah, it appears in a section addressing fundamental human duties and the proper orientation of the heart toward Allah.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best among you to my family' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi). Additionally, Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet said: 'May he be disgraced, may he be disgraced, may he be disgraced—the one whose parents reach old age, one or both, and he does not enter Paradise' (Sahih Muslim), emphasizing the duty of gratitude and kindness toward parents.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that honoring parents is a fundamental Islamic duty integrally linked to gratitude toward Allah, and that true spiritual maturity involves recognizing the sacrifices of those who raised us and translating that recognition into righteous action and sincere repentance. It reminds us that fulfilling our obligations to parents and society is an essential expression of our submission to Allah and our gratitude for His blessings.