سُوْرَةُ لُقْمَانَ
Surah Luqman (31) — Ayah 14
وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ وَفِصَـٰلُهُۥ فِى عَامَيْنِ أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَيْكَ إِلَىَّ ٱلْمَصِيرُ ﴿14﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years - give thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَوَصَّيْنَا
wawaṣṣaynā
And We have enjoined
ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ
l-insāna
(upon) man
بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ
biwālidayhi
for his parents
حَمَلَتْهُ
ḥamalathu
carried him
أُمُّهُۥ
ummuhu
his mother
وَهْنًا
wahnan
(in) weakness
عَلَىٰ
ʿalā
upon
وَهْنٍۢ
wahnin
weakness
وَفِصَـٰلُهُۥ
wafiṣāluhu
and his weaning
فِى
fī
(is) in
عَامَيْنِ
ʿāmayni
two years
أَنِ
ani
that
ٱشْكُرْ
ush'kur
Be grateful
لِى
lī
to Me
وَلِوَٰلِدَيْكَ
waliwālidayka
and to your parents
إِلَىَّ
ilayya
towards Me
ٱلْمَصِيرُ
l-maṣīru
(is) the destination
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
14. And We [16] have enjoined upon man (to show) kindness [17] to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning takes two years [18]. (That is why We commanded:) Give thanks to Me and to your parents. To Me is your final return.
[16] Verses 14 and 15 are mentioned as a parenthetical statement from Allah Almighty among the advices of Luqman. Because these verses are also indirectly related to the condemnation of shirk.
[17] Allah Almighty has mentioned good treatment of parents along with His own right at several places. For the reason and explanation of this, see the footnotes of Surah Bani Isra'il, verses 23 and 24. Also, the following hadith sheds full light on the importance of obedience to parents:
The Hadith of Jurayj:
Hazrat Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: No one spoke in the cradle except three children: 'Isa son of Maryam, and the companion of Jurayj. Jurayj was a devout worshipper who had built a place of worship for himself. One day his mother came while he was praying. The mother said: O Jurayj! He said in his heart: O Allah! On one side is my mother and on the other side is my prayer. He remained engaged in prayer until his mother went back. The next day his mother came again and called out: O Jurayj! He said in his heart: O Allah! On one side is my mother and on the other side is my prayer. In the end, he remained engaged in prayer. (Now a curse came out from his mother's mouth) She said: "O Allah, do not let him die until he sees the face of an immoral woman." Among the Children of Israel, the story of Jurayj and his worship became well known. There was an immoral woman among them whose beauty was proverbial. She said: "If you wish, I can entrap him?" So she presented herself to Jurayj, but he did not pay attention to her. Then she went to a shepherd who used to stay near his place of worship and gave herself to him. The shepherd had relations with her and she became pregnant. When the child was born, she said: "This is Jurayj's child." People came, took him out of his place of worship, demolished it, and started beating him. Jurayj asked: "Tell me what is the matter?" They said: You have committed adultery with this prostitute and now her child has been born. Jurayj said: "Where is the child?" The people brought the child, so Jurayj said: Wait a moment! Let me pray. Then after finishing his prayer, he came to the child, poked him in the stomach, and said: Child! Tell, who is your father? The child spoke up: Such-and-such shepherd is my father. Then the people came to Jurayj, started kissing him, and said: We will build a place of worship for you made of gold. Jurayj said: No, just make it of clay as before. So they built the place of worship. The third (child) was among the Children of Israel, a woman who was breastfeeding her child. A very handsome rider passed by. The woman, seeing the rider, said: "O Allah! Make my child like this rider." The child left his mother's breast and said: "O Allah! Do not make me like him." Then he started suckling again. Then a slave girl passed by (whom people were beating). The woman said: "O Allah, do not make my son like her." The child left the breast and spoke up: O Allah, make me like her. I asked my child: Why do you say so? The child said: That rider is associated with oppressive people and is himself an oppressor, and regarding this slave girl, people say she has stolen and committed adultery, whereas she has done nothing. [Muslim, The Book of Virtue, Enjoining Good Manners, and Joining of the Ties of Kinship, Chapter: Giving Precedence to Kindness to Parents Over Voluntary Prayer, etc.; Bukhari, The Book of the Prophets, Chapter: And mention in the Book (the story of) Maryam]
This hadith is famous as the Hadith of Jurayj, and from it the scholars have deduced the ruling that if a child is engaged in voluntary prayer and either of the parents calls him, he should break the prayer and respond to their call and fulfill their command.
[18]
The Duration of Breastfeeding:
From this verse and also from verse 233 of Surah Baqarah, it is explicitly known that the maximum duration of breastfeeding is two years. This period can be reduced if the parents, due to some necessity, wish to wean the child before two years, they may do so. But this period cannot be increased. Also, in verse 15 of Surah Ahqaf, it is stated that the duration of pregnancy and weaning is thirty months. In this, the scholars have also considered the possibility of reducing the duration of pregnancy to six months by counting the duration of breastfeeding as two years. But despite all these explicit statements, Imam Abu Hanifah considers the maximum duration of breastfeeding to be two and a half years. He is unique in this opinion, and no other Imam of jurisprudence has supported him. The importance of this issue is that the ruling of the prohibition of marriage is based on the correct determination of this period.
[16] Verses 14 and 15 are mentioned as a parenthetical statement from Allah Almighty among the advices of Luqman. Because these verses are also indirectly related to the condemnation of shirk.
[17] Allah Almighty has mentioned good treatment of parents along with His own right at several places. For the reason and explanation of this, see the footnotes of Surah Bani Isra'il, verses 23 and 24. Also, the following hadith sheds full light on the importance of obedience to parents:
The Hadith of Jurayj:
Hazrat Abu Hurairah ؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: No one spoke in the cradle except three children: 'Isa son of Maryam, and the companion of Jurayj. Jurayj was a devout worshipper who had built a place of worship for himself. One day his mother came while he was praying. The mother said: O Jurayj! He said in his heart: O Allah! On one side is my mother and on the other side is my prayer. He remained engaged in prayer until his mother went back. The next day his mother came again and called out: O Jurayj! He said in his heart: O Allah! On one side is my mother and on the other side is my prayer. In the end, he remained engaged in prayer. (Now a curse came out from his mother's mouth) She said: "O Allah, do not let him die until he sees the face of an immoral woman." Among the Children of Israel, the story of Jurayj and his worship became well known. There was an immoral woman among them whose beauty was proverbial. She said: "If you wish, I can entrap him?" So she presented herself to Jurayj, but he did not pay attention to her. Then she went to a shepherd who used to stay near his place of worship and gave herself to him. The shepherd had relations with her and she became pregnant. When the child was born, she said: "This is Jurayj's child." People came, took him out of his place of worship, demolished it, and started beating him. Jurayj asked: "Tell me what is the matter?" They said: You have committed adultery with this prostitute and now her child has been born. Jurayj said: "Where is the child?" The people brought the child, so Jurayj said: Wait a moment! Let me pray. Then after finishing his prayer, he came to the child, poked him in the stomach, and said: Child! Tell, who is your father? The child spoke up: Such-and-such shepherd is my father. Then the people came to Jurayj, started kissing him, and said: We will build a place of worship for you made of gold. Jurayj said: No, just make it of clay as before. So they built the place of worship. The third (child) was among the Children of Israel, a woman who was breastfeeding her child. A very handsome rider passed by. The woman, seeing the rider, said: "O Allah! Make my child like this rider." The child left his mother's breast and said: "O Allah! Do not make me like him." Then he started suckling again. Then a slave girl passed by (whom people were beating). The woman said: "O Allah, do not make my son like her." The child left the breast and spoke up: O Allah, make me like her. I asked my child: Why do you say so? The child said: That rider is associated with oppressive people and is himself an oppressor, and regarding this slave girl, people say she has stolen and committed adultery, whereas she has done nothing. [Muslim, The Book of Virtue, Enjoining Good Manners, and Joining of the Ties of Kinship, Chapter: Giving Precedence to Kindness to Parents Over Voluntary Prayer, etc.; Bukhari, The Book of the Prophets, Chapter: And mention in the Book (the story of) Maryam]
This hadith is famous as the Hadith of Jurayj, and from it the scholars have deduced the ruling that if a child is engaged in voluntary prayer and either of the parents calls him, he should break the prayer and respond to their call and fulfill their command.
[18]
The Duration of Breastfeeding:
From this verse and also from verse 233 of Surah Baqarah, it is explicitly known that the maximum duration of breastfeeding is two years. This period can be reduced if the parents, due to some necessity, wish to wean the child before two years, they may do so. But this period cannot be increased. Also, in verse 15 of Surah Ahqaf, it is stated that the duration of pregnancy and weaning is thirty months. In this, the scholars have also considered the possibility of reducing the duration of pregnancy to six months by counting the duration of breastfeeding as two years. But despite all these explicit statements, Imam Abu Hanifah considers the maximum duration of breastfeeding to be two and a half years. He is unique in this opinion, and no other Imam of jurisprudence has supported him. The importance of this issue is that the ruling of the prohibition of marriage is based on the correct determination of this period.
