ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ ﱯ ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ ﱴ ﱵ ﱶ
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.
Tafsir
Verse range: 31:14
When He forbade him from worshipping other than God, and service (to parents) is close to worship in form, it was clarified that this service is not impossible, but rather obligatory in some forms, such as serving the parents.
Then He explained the reason, saying: {His mother carried him}, meaning that God has bestowed upon His servants the grace of existence initially through creation, and the grace of preservation through provision. By His grace, He made the mother a means for what has the form of that (existence), even if she does not possess the reality of it. For carrying reveals existence, and weaning (occurs) in two years, meaning that she also became, by His power, the means for his preservation.
Since what has the form of existence and preservation comes from her, what resembles worship—namely service—is obligatory upon him. For service has the form of worship.
If someone asks: "God commanded kindness to the parents and mentioned the reason specifically for the mother," we say: The mother was singled out for mention, but what applies to the mother also applies to the father. The father carried him in his loins for years and raised him by his earnings for years, which is even more emphatic.
And His saying: {that you be grateful to Me and to your parents}. Since God, by His grace, made the parents a form of what is from God—as existence in reality is from God, but appears in form through the parents—He joined the gratitude between them, saying: {that you be grateful to Me and to your parents}.
Then He clarified the difference, saying: {To Me is the final destination}. Meaning, their favor is confined to this world, but My favor is in this world and the Hereafter, for {To Me is the final destination}. Or, we can say: Since He commanded gratitude to Himself and to the parents, He mentioned the recompense at the time of the final return to Him.
