Al-Ahqaf: 15
**"And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents..."**
It is read: (ḥusnan) with a damma on the ḥāʾ and a sukūn on the sīn; and with both (ḥāʾ and sīn) having a damma; and with both having a fatḥa.
Iḥsānan (good treatment) and kurhan (hardship) are read with both fatḥa and damma; they are two dialects for the meaning of difficulty, like faqran and fuqran. Its accusative case is as a state (ḥāl), meaning: "possessing hardship," or as an adjective for the verbal noun, meaning: "a carrying that is accompanied by hardship."
{And his gestation and his weaning}
The duration of his gestation and weaning is {thirty months}. This is evidence that the minimum period of gestation is six months, because if the period of breastfeeding is two years—based on His saying, the Almighty: {two complete years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing} (Al-Baqarah: 233)—then six months remain for gestation.
It is read: (fiṣāluhu). Faṣl and fiṣāl are like faṭm and fiṭām (weaning) in structure and meaning. If you ask: "The intent is to state the duration of breastfeeding, not weaning, so why express it as fiṣāl?" I say: Because breastfeeding is followed by and intertwined with weaning—as it ends and is completed by it—it is called fiṣāl, just as a duration is called amad (term), as the poet says:
Every living being completes the duration of life, and is a visitor when his term (amad) ends.
It contains a benefit, which is the indication of the complete breastfeeding that ends with weaning and its timing.
It is read: {Until, when he reaches his maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years}
Reaching the ashudd (maturity) is when one reaches middle age and attains the age in which his strength, intellect, and discernment are firmly established. This is when he exceeds thirty and approaches forty. From Qatadah: "Thirty-three years." The interpretation is that this is the beginning of maturity, and its limit is forty. It is said: No prophet was ever sent except after forty years.
The "favor" (niʿmah) for which he is inspired to give thanks is the favor of monotheism and Islam. He combined the thanks for the favor upon himself and upon his parents because the favor upon them is a favor upon him. It is said regarding the "righteous deed": it is the five prayers.
If you ask: "What is the meaning of fī (in) in His saying: {and make righteousness for me in my descendants}?" I say: Its meaning is to make his descendants a location for righteousness and a place where it is expected, as if he said: "Grant me righteousness in my descendants and cause it to occur within them." Similar to it is:
My spearhead wounds in their heels.
{Among the Muslims}
Meaning: Among the sincere ones.
It is read: (yataqabbalu) and (yatajāwazu) with a fatḥa on the yāʾ, and the pronoun in both refers to Allah, the Almighty. They are also read with a nūn.
If you ask: "What is the meaning of His saying: {among the companions of the Garden}?" I say: It is like your saying: "The prince honored me among a group of his companions," meaning: He honored me among the number of those he honored, and included me in their count. Its place is in the accusative as a state (ḥāl), meaning: "being among the companions of the Garden and counted among them."
{The promise of truth}
A confirming verbal noun, because His saying "He accepts" and "He overlooks" is a promise from Allah to them of acceptance and forgiveness.
It is said: This was revealed regarding Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), his father Abu Quḥāfah, his mother Umm al-Khayr, and his children, and the answering of his supplication regarding them. It is also said: There was no one among the Companions—from the Emigrants and the Helpers—who accepted Islam along with his father, his mother, his sons, and his daughters, except for Abu Bakr.
{But the one who says to his parents, "Uff to you! Do you promise me that I will be brought forth [from the grave] when generations have already passed before me?" while they call for help to Allah, "Woe to you! Believe! Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth." But he says, "This is not but legends of the former people." Those are the ones upon whom the word has come into effect, among nations which had passed on before them of jinn and mankind. Indeed, they were the losers.}
