Surah Luqman (31) — Ayah 14

(Ayah 14) ➊ {وَ وَصَّيْنَا الْاِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ :} Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, mentioned the advice of Luqman (peace be upon him) to his son, in which he emphasized fulfilling the right of Allah Almighty, and along with that, Allah Almighty Himself advised man to fulfill the rights of his parents, because they became the means for his coming into the world and his upbringing. In several places in the Noble Qur’an, the worship of Allah Almighty and kindness to parents are mentioned together. See Bani Isra’il (23, 24), Ankabut (8), and An’am (151). Here, after {’’ وَ وَصَّيْنَا الْاِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ ‘‘}, the explanation of this advice is given with {’’ اَنِ اشْكُرْ لِيْ وَ لِوَالِدَيْكَ ‘‘}, meaning We advised man regarding his parents that he should be grateful to Me and to his parents. In between, as a parenthetical sentence, attention is drawn to the greater right of the mother, as she bore much more hardship for the child than the father. Mu’awiyah bin Haydah (may Allah be pleased with him) (grandfather of Bahz bin Hakim) narrates that I said: [ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! مَنْ أَبَرُّ ] “O Messenger of Allah! With whom should I do kindness and good conduct?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ أُمَّكَ ثُمَّ أُمَّكَ ثُمَّ أُمَّكَ ثُمَّ أَبَاكَ ثُمَّ الْأَقْرَبَ فَالْأَقْرَبَ ] [ أبوداوٗد، الأدب، باب في بر الوالدین، : ۵۱۳۹ ، و قال الألباني حسن صحیح ] “With your mother, then with your mother, then with your mother, then with your father, then with the closest after that, then the next closest after that.” Some scholars have stated one reason for this emphasis is that due to the mother’s weakness, natural gentleness, and compassion, children do not care for her and fall short in fulfilling her right, whereas due to the father’s temperament, they have to be mindful of him, so for emphasis, the mother was mentioned three times. This does not mean to give three rupees to the mother and one rupee to the father, rather, children should be mindful of both. (And Allah knows best)

➋ The construction of { حَمَلَتْهُ اُمُّهٗ وَهْنًا عَلٰى وَهْنٍ:’’ وَهْنًا ‘‘} can be in several ways; one is that it is a circumstantial clause (hal) from {’’ اُمُّهٗ ‘‘} in the meaning of an active participle (ism fa’il). {’’ أَيْ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ ذَاتَ وَهْنٍ عَلٰي وَهْنٍ ‘‘} That is, his mother bore him in such a state that she was weakness upon weakness. Zamakhshari said: {’’ وَهْنًا ‘‘} The verb is omitted, and {’’تَهِنُ‘‘} is its absolute object, meaning his mother bore him in such a state that she kept becoming weaker and weaker, her weakness increasing day by day, because as her pregnancy advanced, her burden and weakness increased. Another possibility is that the preposition “ba” is omitted before it, and due to its omission, it is accusative: {’’أَيْ حَمَلَتْهُ بِضُعْفٍ عَلٰي ضُعْفٍ‘‘} That is, she bore him with weakness upon weakness.

➌ In { ’’ وَهْنًا عَلٰى وَهْنٍ ‘‘} (weakness upon weakness), after the increasing weakness during pregnancy, between {’’ وَ فِصٰلُهٗ فِيْ عَامَيْنِ ‘‘} (his weaning is in two years), the many stages of weakness and hardship are not mentioned, because they are self-evident. These include the agonizing stage of childbirth, then the weakness of postpartum bleeding, then the day and night upbringing of the child, caring for him, breastfeeding him, and attending to all his needs, etc.

➍ { وَ فِصٰلُهٗ فِيْ عَامَيْنِ :} Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said, Allah Almighty’s statement {’’ وَ فِصٰلُهٗ فِيْ عَامَيْنِ ‘‘} (and his weaning is in two years) is similar in meaning to Allah Almighty’s statement: «{ وَ الْوَالِدٰتُ يُرْضِعْنَ اَوْلَادَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ اَرَادَ اَنْ يُّتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ }» [ البقرۃ : ۲۳۳ ] “And mothers shall breastfeed their children for two complete years, for whoever wishes to complete the term of breastfeeding.” From this, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and other Imams have deduced that the minimum duration of pregnancy is six months, because Allah Almighty said in another verse: «{ وَ حَمْلُهٗ وَ فِصٰلُهٗ ثَلٰثُوْنَ شَهْرًا }» [ الأحقاف : ۱۵ ] “And the bearing of him and his weaning is thirty months.” And Allah Almighty mentioned the mother’s nurturing, her weakness, fatigue, and wakefulness and hardship day and night, so that the child may remember the favor she did for him, as Allah Almighty said: «{ وَ قُلْ رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيٰنِيْ صَغِيْرًا }» [ بني إسرائیل : ۲۴ ] “And say: My Lord, have mercy on them both as they brought me up when I was small.”

➎ Zamakhshari said: “If you ask what is the purpose of specifying the period of weaning as two years, I would say that specifying this period means that this is the limit which should not be exceeded. Weaning before two years is dependent on the mother's ijtihad (reasoned judgment). If she thinks the child can bear weaning before that, she may do so. The evidence for this is Allah Almighty’s statement: «{ وَ الْوَالِدٰتُ يُرْضِعْنَ اَوْلَادَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ اَرَادَ اَنْ يُّتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ }» [ البقرۃ : ۲۳۳ ] ‘And mothers shall breastfeed their children for two complete years, for whoever wishes to complete the term of breastfeeding.’”

➏ From this verse, it is understood that the complete period of breastfeeding is two years. Breastfeeding within this period establishes the prohibition of fosterage (radā‘ah); after this, it does not. Some people have considered the period of fosterage to be two and a half years and have regarded it as precaution, but after a clear verse, no one has the right to oppose it for precaution or any other reason. See also Surah Ahqaf (15).

➐ By bringing { اِلَيَّ الْمَصِيْرُ : ’’ اِلَيَّ ‘‘} first, exclusivity is created in the statement, meaning the return is only to Me, not to anyone else. Here, a question arises that it is not specified whose return is meant? The answer is that it is kept general so that everyone is included in it. That is, everyone, including you, must return only to Me. In this, there is a renewed advice from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to be grateful to Him and to one’s parents, and also a promise and a warning: if you act upon My advice regarding Me and your parents, you will receive a good reward, otherwise be prepared for punishment.