Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:41

(Our Lord, forgive me) meaning: what I have committed of that which I consider a sin, (and my parents) meaning: my mother and my father. His mother, according to what has been narrated from al-Hasan, was a believer, so there is no issue in seeking forgiveness for her. As for his seeking forgiveness for his father, it has been said in his defense that it was before it became clear to him that he was an enemy of Allah Almighty, for Allah Almighty has recounted what he—peace be upon him—said at different times. It is also said that he—peace be upon him—intended the condition of Islam and repentance, and this is the view of Ibn al-Khazin. It is also said that by his father, he meant Noah—peace be upon him—and it is said that he meant his father Adam and his mother Eve—peace be upon them—and this is the view of some of those who claim his mother was an infidel, though the correct view is what has preceded.

The Shia stated: His parents—peace be upon him—were believers, and that is why he prayed for them, while the infidel was his father—meaning his paternal uncle or his maternal grandfather. They used this verse as proof of his parents' faith, and they did not accept what was said regarding it, even the first view, based on their claim that this supplication was after he had reached old age and had been gifted Ishmael and Isaac—peace be upon them—and by that time, the enmity of his infidel father toward Allah Almighty had become clear to him.

Al-Hasan ibn Ali—may Allah be pleased with them both—, Abu Ja’far Muhammad, Zayd ibn Ali, Ibn Ya’mur, al-Zuhri, and al-Nakha’i read (wa li-waladayya) without an alif and with a fatḥah on the lam, as the dual of walad (child), meaning by them Ishmael and Isaac. ‘Asim al-Jahdari rejected this reading, and it was reported that in the codex of Ubayy it is (wa li-abawayya), and in some codices (wa li-dhurriyyati). From Yahya ibn Ya’mur, it is narrated as (wa li-wuldayya) with a dammah on the waw and a sukun on the lam. It is possible that it is the plural of walad like asad in usud, meaning he prayed for his offspring; or it may be a dialectal variant for walad (child), as in the poet’s saying: "Would that Ziyad were in his mother’s womb, and would that Ziyad were the child (walad) of a donkey," and similarly al-‘adam and al-‘udum. Ibn Jubayr read (wa li-walidayya) with a sukun on the ya, treating it as singular, like his saying: "And forgive my father."

(And for the believers) all of them, from his offspring and others. Hence, al-Sha’bi said in what was narrated from him by Ibn Abi Hatim: "I would not be pleased to exchange my portion of the supplication of Noah and Abraham—peace be upon them—for the believers, men and women, for even the finest of camels." To indicate that everyone shares in the prayer for forgiveness, the plural pronoun was used.

(The day the account is established) meaning: is proven and realized. The use of "standing" (qiyam) for what was mentioned is either a loose metaphor (majaz mursal) or a metaphorical substitution (isti’arah). Similar examples include "the war broke out" and "the market was established." It is permitted that the account has been likened to a man standing, as a hidden metaphor (isti’arah makniyyah), and "standing" is affirmed for it as a creative visualization; or that the intent is "the people of the account shall stand," so the genitive-linked noun (the people) is elided; or that he attributed to the account what belongs to its people as a metaphor. This was made the second sign in the Sharh al-Talkhis, like "His beating was [for] discipline," which is an attribution to the final cause—meaning its people stand for the sake of it. Al-Salkuti mentioned that he only said "like it" because the account is not what one stands for in reality, but it is similar to it due to its being a consequence of it, and there is debate regarding this.