Surah Al-Ahqaf (46) — Ayah 15

(Ayah 15) ➊ From the beginning of { وَ وَصَّيْنَا الْاِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ اِحْسٰنًا:} Surah up to here, Allah Almighty has mentioned His Oneness, the truth of the Book He has revealed, and steadfastness in His worship. Now, the emphasis on showing kindness to parents is mentioned. In several places in the Noble Qur’an, Allah Almighty has mentioned the right of parents along with the right of His Oneness and sincere worship. For the explanation of this sentence, see Surah Al-Baqarah (83), Bani Isra’il (23, 24), Al-Ankabut (8), and Surah Luqman (14, 15).

➋ { حَمَلَتْهُ اُمُّهٗ كُرْهًا وَّ وَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا: ’’كَرِهَ يَكْرَهُ كَرْهًا وَ كُرْهًا وَ كَرَاهَةً وَ كَرَاهِيَةً‘‘} (‘A) {’’ اَلشَّيْءَ‘‘ } This is the opposite of {’’أَحَبَّ الشَّيْءَ‘‘}, meaning to dislike. {’’اَلْكَرْهُ ‘‘} and {’’اَلْكُرْهُ ‘‘} also mean denial and hardship. {’’ كُرْهًا ‘‘} is a circumstantial accusative (haal): {’’أَيْ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ ذَاتَ كُرْهٍ‘‘} meaning his mother bore him in a state that was unpleasant or full of hardship. Or, before this, the preposition “ba” is omitted, and due to its omission, it is in the accusative: {’’أَيْ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ بِكُرْهٍ‘‘} meaning his mother bore him with unpleasantness or hardship, {’’ وَ وَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا ‘‘} and gave birth to him with unpleasantness and hardship.

➌ Although the verse emphasizes kindness to both mother and father, the mother’s three sacrifices are specifically mentioned. The first is that she carries him in her womb for the entire duration of pregnancy, during which she endures many unpleasant conditions, such as nausea, restlessness, fatigue, a state like illness, increasing weakness day by day, about which Allah Almighty has said elsewhere: «حَمَلَتْهُ اُمُّهٗ وَهْنًا عَلٰى وَهْنٍ » [ لقمان : ۱۴ ] “His mother bore him in weakness upon weakness.” Especially in the last days of pregnancy, this burden becomes a torment for her life. The reality is that if a person tries to fulfill his mother’s right by carrying her in a state of weakness, even then he cannot fulfill her right. How can carrying her for a short time compare to carrying the child in her womb continuously for the entire duration of pregnancy? Moreover, the mother endures all these unpleasant conditions happily in anticipation of the coming child, whereas the child, if ever, carries her as a burden or only as a command of Allah; there is no comparison between the two. The second sacrifice is the extremely painful stage of childbirth, in which her life is at stake; how many mothers lose their lives at this stage, yet she endures this unpleasant stage in hope of her child. The third sacrifice is nurturing the child for two years, sacrificing her own comfort to provide every ease for the child, and feeding him her own blood in the form of milk for two years. Because of these three sacrifices, Allah Almighty has given the mother’s right three times more than the father’s. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: [ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! مَنْ أَحَقُّ النَّاسِ بِحُسْنِ صَحَابَتِيْ؟ قَالَ أُمُّكَ، قَالَ ثُمَّ مَنْ؟ قَالَ ثُمَّ أُمُّكَ، قَالَ ثُمَّ مَنْ؟ قَالَ ثُمَّ أُمُّكَ، قَالَ ثُمَّ مَنْ؟ قَالَ ثُمَّ أَبُوْكَ ] [ بخاري، الأدب، باب من أحق الناس بحسن الصحبۃ : ۵۹۷۱ ] “O Messenger of Allah! Who among the people is most deserving of my good companionship?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Then your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Then your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) said (the fourth time): “Then your father.”

➍ {وَ حَمْلُهٗ وَ فِصٰلُهٗ ثَلٰثُوْنَ شَهْرًا:} This verse, and verse (14) of Surah Luqman: « وَ فِصٰلُهٗ فِيْ عَامَيْنِ» (and his weaning is in two years), and verse (233) of Surah Al-Baqarah: « وَ الْوَالِدٰتُ يُرْضِعْنَ اَوْلَادَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ اَرَادَ اَنْ يُّتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ » (and mothers shall breastfeed their children for two complete years, for whoever wishes to complete the term of breastfeeding), by combining these three verses, it is established that the minimum duration of pregnancy is six months, because if the two years of breastfeeding are subtracted from the thirty months, six months remain. Ibn Kathir, in the commentary of verse (81) of Surah Az-Zukhruf: « قُلْ اِنْ كَانَ لِلرَّحْمٰنِ وَلَدٌ فَاَنَا اَوَّلُ الْعٰبِدِيْنَ», has quoted from Ibn Jarir Tabari: [عَنْ بَعْجَةَ بْنِ زَيْدٍ الْجُهَنِيِّ، أَنَّ امْرَأَةً مِّنْهُمْ دَخَلَتْ عَلٰی زَوْجِهَا، وَ هُوَ رَجُلٌ مِّنْهُمْ أَيْضًا، فَوَلَدَتْ لَهُ فِيْ سِتَّةِ أَشْهُرٍ، فَذَكَرَ ذٰلِكَ زَوْجُهَا لِعُثْمَانَ بْنِ عَفَّانَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ فَأَمَرَ بِهَا أَنْ تُرْجَمَ، فَدَخَلَ عَلَيْهِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِيْ طَالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ فَقَالَ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالٰی يَقُوْلُ فِيْ كِتَابِهِ : «وَ حَمْلُهٗ وَ فِصٰلُهٗ ثَلٰثُوْنَ شَهْرًا » وَ قَالَ : « وَ فِصٰلُهٗ فِيْ عَامَيْنِ » قَالَ فَوَاللّٰهِ! مَا عَبِدَ عُثْمَانُ أَنْ بَعَثَ إِلَيْهَا تُرَدَّ ] [الطبري : ۲۰ /۶۵۷، ح : ۳۱۲۷۰ ] “Ba’jah bin Yazid Jahni says that a woman from his tribe came to her husband, who was also from the same tribe, and she gave birth to a child in six months. Her husband mentioned this to Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), so he ordered her to be stoned. Upon this, Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and said: ‘Allah Almighty says in His Book: « وَ حَمْلُهٗ وَ فِصٰلُهٗ ثَلٰثُوْنَ شَهْرًا » (that the duration of his bearing and weaning is thirty months) and Allah Almighty says: « وَ فِصٰلُهٗ فِيْ عَامَيْنِ » (and his weaning is in two years).’ Ba’jah bin Yazid says: ‘By Allah! Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) did not object to his statement and immediately sent a man to bring her back.’”

The researcher of Ibn Kathir, Hikmat bin Basheer, said its chain is Sahih. This reasoning is extremely strong, and besides Ali and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them), a group of Companions agreed with them. (Ibn Kathir) Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said: “If a woman gives birth in nine (9) months, then twenty-one (21) months of breastfeeding is sufficient for her; if she gives birth in seven (7) months, then twenty-three (23) months of breastfeeding is sufficient for her; and if she gives birth in six (6) months, then she should breastfeed for the full two years, because Allah Almighty has said: « وَ حَمْلُهٗ وَ فِصٰلُهٗ ثَلٰثُوْنَ شَهْرًا » ‘The duration of his bearing and weaning is thirty months.’” [ ابن أبي حاتم : ۱۸۵۶۷۔ ابن کثیر وقال المحقق سندہ حسن ]

➎ { حَتّٰۤى اِذَا بَلَغَ اَشُدَّهٗ وَ بَلَغَ اَرْبَعِيْنَ سَنَةً … :} From here, Allah Almighty has mentioned two types of people in terms of recognizing the rights of parents. In this verse, the person is mentioned who, upon reaching maturity, recognizes the rights of his parents, and this recognition leads him to recognize his true Owner and Sustainer and to express gratitude to Him. For the explanation of {’’ بَلَغَ اَشُدَّهٗ ‘‘}, see the commentary of Surah Yusuf (22). In this context, the mention of forty years of age is as the final limit of maturity, because at this age a person’s faculties reach their peak. After this, the process of decline begins. In this verse, every young person in general, and a forty-year-old in particular, is warned that he should recognize the rights of his nurturing parents and the rights of his and his parents’ true Sustainer and Owner, and should keep seeking Tawfiq (divine enablement) from Him to express gratitude for His blessings upon himself and his parents, because without His Tawfiq (divine enablement), no good deed can be done, and at the same time, he should keep praying for the rectification of his children. In this way, recognizing and fulfilling the rights of parents becomes a means for him to recognize the rights of his Lord, to remain steadfast on His Oneness, to be sincere in His worship, and to be grateful for His blessings, which is the real purpose of human life.

➏ { وَ اَنْ اَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضٰىهُ:} Although only that deed is righteous which Allah Almighty likes and is done with sincerity, yet to emphasize the importance of sincerity of intention and being free from showing off, it is mentioned separately. That is, grant me the Tawfiq (divine enablement) to do such a deed which is correct outwardly, i.e., according to Your Book and the Sunnah of Your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and also in reality according to Your pleasure and worthy of acceptance in Your presence, i.e., based on sincerity of intention and free from showing off.

➐ { وَ اَصْلِحْ لِيْ فِيْ ذُرِّيَّتِيْ:} In this supplication, two words are noteworthy: one is {’’ لِيْ ‘‘} and the other is { ’’ فِيْ ‘‘۔ ’’ اَصْلِحْ لِيْ ‘‘} (rectify for me). It means, rectify them in such a way that I also benefit from it. {’’ فِيْ ذُرِّيَّتِيْ ‘‘} Here, apparently {’’أَصْلِحْ لِيْ ذُرِّيَّتِيْ‘‘} (rectify my children for me) would have been sufficient, as He said: «وَ اَصْلَحْنَا لَهٗ زَوْجَهٗ » [ الأنبیاء : ۹۰ ] “And We rectified his wife for him.” But the purpose of bringing {’’ فِيْ ‘‘} is that the process of rectification in my children may continue, so that it keeps going forward, as has been said about Ibrahim (peace be upon him): « وَ جَعَلَهَا كَلِمَةًۢ بَاقِيَةً فِيْ عَقِبِهٖ» [ الزخرف : ۲۸ ] “And he made it a lasting word among his descendants.”

➑ { اِنِّيْ تُبْتُ اِلَيْكَ وَ اِنِّيْ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ:} That is, I have refrained from the rebellion and ignorance of my youth and from every kind of disobedience to You, and I am among Your complete obedient servants. From this, it is understood that one should especially renew repentance at the age of forty (40) and after.

➒ This supplication is an elixir for the rectification of children. Allah Almighty Himself has taught it, and it is among the accepted supplications, because in the next verse Allah Almighty has given the glad tidings of its acceptance, saying: « نَتَقَبَّلُ عَنْهُمْ » “We accept from them.” Just as Surah Al-Fatihah and the supplications in the last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah are. Therefore, no parent, especially one who is forty years old or above, should be heedless of this supplication. In Tafsir Qurtubi, it is mentioned that Malik bin Mighwal complained to Talhah bin Musarrif about his son, so he said: “Seek help for him with this supplication.” [ قرطبي : ۱۶ /۱۹۵ ]