وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ وَهْنًا عَلَىٰ وَهْنٍ وَفِصَـٰلُهُۥ فِى عَامَيْنِ أَنِ ٱشْكُرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَيْكَ إِلَىَّ ٱلْمَصِيرُ 14
Translations
And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination.
Transliteration
Wa-wassayna al-insana bi-waalidayhi hamalat-hu ummu-hu wahnan ala wahni wa-fisaaluhu fi aamayni ani-shkur li wa-li-waalidayka ilayya al-masir
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah commands humanity to honor and be dutiful to parents, emphasizing the immense struggle of the mother during pregnancy (weakness upon weakness) and the two-year period of nursing and weaning. The ayah connects gratitude to Allah with gratitude to parents, as they are instrumental in one's existence and upbringing, ultimately reminding that all return to Allah. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir emphasize that this commandment is among the most important obligations after Tawhid (monotheism), and Al-Qurtubi notes the profound wisdom in mentioning the mother's suffering specifically to highlight her sacrifice.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Luqman, a Meccan surah containing the moral teachings of the wise man Luqman to his son. It appears within the broader context of Luqman's advice on faith, ethics, and family relations. The surah addresses universal principles of conduct rather than responding to specific historical events, making this a thematic rather than event-based revelation.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The greatest sin is to associate partners with Allah and to be ungrateful to parents.' Additionally, Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'May he be humbled, may he be humbled, whose parents or one of them reach old age while he is alive, and he does not enter Paradise' (Sahih Muslim), emphasizing dutiful treatment of aging parents.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that honoring parents is a sacred duty intrinsically linked to gratitude toward Allah, reminding modern believers that showing compassion and respect to aging parents—especially mothers who endured tremendous hardship—is a fundamental pathway to righteousness and closeness to the Divine.
Related Ayahs
وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَـٰنُ لِٱبْنِهِۦ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُۥ يَـٰبُنَىَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ
And [mention, O Muḥammad], when Luqmān said to his son while he was instructing him, "O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allāh. Indeed, association [with Him] is great injustice."
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُولِجُ ٱلَّيْلَ فِى ٱلنَّهَارِ وَيُولِجُ ٱلنَّهَارَ فِى ٱلَّيْلِ وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ يَجْرِىٓ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
Do you not see [i.e., know] that Allāh causes the night to enter the day and causes the day to enter the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term, and that Allāh, of whatever you do, is Aware?
وَمَن كَفَرَ فَلَا يَحْزُنكَ كُفْرُهُۥٓ ۚ إِلَيْنَا مَرْجِعُهُمْ فَنُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا عَمِلُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ
And whoever has disbelieved - let not his disbelief grieve you. To Us is their return, and We will inform them of what they did. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing of that within the breasts.
وَإِذَا غَشِيَهُم مَّوْجٌ كَٱلظُّلَلِ دَعَوُا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّىٰهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْبَرِّ فَمِنْهُم مُّقْتَصِدٌ ۚ وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَآ إِلَّا كُلُّ خَتَّارٍ كَفُورٍ
And when waves come over them like canopies, they supplicate Allāh, sincere to Him in religion [i.e., faith]. But when He delivers them to the land, there are [some] of them who are moderate [in faith]. And none rejects Our signs except everyone treacherous and ungrateful.