Tafseer of The Dunes · Al-Ahqaf · 46:15
And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His statement, the Exalted: And We have enjoined upon man to be good to his parents. His mother bore him with hardship and delivered him with hardship, and his bearing and his weaning are thirty months, until, when he reaches his full strength and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord, dispose me to thank You for the favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and that I may do righteous deeds which please You, and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have turned to You in repentance, and indeed I am among the Muslims (16) — (15)
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: And We have enjoined upon the son of Adam, with regard to his parents, what is good in his dealings with them during the days of their life, and goodness toward them during their life and after their death.
The reciters differ over the reading of His word (ḥusnan). Most of the reciters of Medina and Basra read it as "ḥusnan" with a ḍamma on the ḥāʾ, in accordance with the explanation that has been described. And most of the reciters of Kufa read it as (iḥsānan) with an alif, meaning: And We have enjoined upon him to do good to the two of them. With whichever of the two the reciter recites, he is correct, because of the close kinship of their meanings and the wide currency of both readings among the reciters.
And His word His mother bore him with hardship and delivered him with hardship — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: And We have enjoined upon man to be good to his parents, to be kindhearted toward them, because of what had come from them toward him when he was borne, was born, and grew up. Then He described, mighty is His praise, the favor of his mother which he enjoyed, and what she underwent from him during her bearing and her delivery, and He pointed out to him what he owes her of goodness, and what is due to her from him of honoring and beautiful dealing, and He said: His mother bore him — He means: in her belly, with hardship (kurhan), that is: discomfort, and delivered him with hardship — He says: and she gave birth to him with hardship, that is: discomfort.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: His mother bore him with hardship and delivered him with hardship — he says: she bore him with discomfort and gave birth to him with discomfort.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda and al-Ḥasan, concerning His word His mother bore him with hardship and delivered him with hardship, both of them said: she bore him in discomfort and gave birth to him in discomfort.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word His mother bore him with hardship, he said: discomfort for her.
The reciters differ over the reading of His word (kurhan). Most of the reciters of Medina and Basra read it as "karhan" with a fatḥa on the kāf. And most of the reciters of Kufa read it as (kurhan) with a ḍamma upon it. I have already set forth the disagreement between the conflicting views about that, regarding both the fatḥa and the ḍamma, in Sūrat al-Baqara, in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat it in this place.
And the correct judgment about that, in my view, is that they are two well-known readings, with closely related meanings, so with whichever of the two the reciter recites, he is correct.
And His word and his bearing and his weaning are thirty months — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: And the bearing of his mother of him as an embryo in her belly, and her weaning of him from suckling, and her detaching him from drinking milk, amounts to thirty months.
The reciters differ over the reading of His word (wa-fiṣāluhu). Most of the reciters of the regions, with the exception of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, read it as (wa-ḥamluhu wa-fiṣāluhu), meaning: his mother weaned him, a weaning and a detaching. And it is related from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī that he read it as "wa-ḥamluhu wa-faṣluhu", with a fatḥa on the fāʾ and without an alif, meaning: and the weaning of his mother of him.
And the correct judgment about that, in our view, is that to which the reciters of the regions adhere, because of the consensus of the authoritative proof among the reciters about that, and the deviance of whatever deviates from it.
And His word until he reaches his full strength — the people of interpretation differ over its limit in years. Some of them said: that is thirty-three years.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Idrīs related to us, saying: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUthmān ibn Khuthaym, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: his full strength (ashuddahu): thirty-three years, and his maturity: forty years, and the excuse by which Allah leaves the son of Adam no plea: sixty.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: until he reaches his full strength — he said: thirty-three.
And others said: it is the reaching of sexual maturity (al-ḥulm).
* Mention of who said that:
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mujālid informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: the full strength (al-ashudd): sexual maturity, when the good deeds are recorded for him and the evil deeds are recorded against him.
And we have already set forth earlier that al-ashudd is the plural of shadd, and that it is the fullness of his strength and his maturity. And if that is so, then thirty-three is more in conformity with it than sexual maturity, for man does not, in the state of his sexual maturity, reach the fullness of his strengths and the peak of his capacity. For when the Arabs mention something of this kind in their speech and make one thing follow another, they make both points of time close to one another, the one near the other, as the Exalted, mighty is His praise, said: Indeed, your Lord knows that you stand in prayer for nearly two-thirds of the night and half of it. You hardly say: I know that you stand for nearly an hour of the night, and the whole night; nor: I have taken a little of the wealth, or the whole of it; but you say: I have taken the greater part of my wealth, or the whole of it. So too is His word until he reaches his full strength and reaches forty years — there is no doubt that making the forty follow the thirty-three is more elegant and more fitting, since by it is intended the bringing near of one to the other, than making it follow the fifteen or the eighteen.
And His word and reaches forty years — that is the moment at which Allah's proof against him is completed, and the ignorance of his youth has departed from him, and he has come to know the obligatory right of Allah in goodness toward his parents.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: and reaches forty years — while some of his evil deeds have already passed.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: and reaches forty years, he says: My Lord, dispose me until He reached among the Muslims — while there had already passed of his evil deeds what had passed.
And His word he says: My Lord, dispose me to thank You for the favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: this man, whom Allah has guided to his right path and who has come to know the right of Allah toward him with respect to what He has imposed upon him of goodness toward his parents, said: My Lord, dispose me to thank You for Your favor — he says: help me to thank Your favor which You have bestowed upon me by making me know Your oneness (tawḥīd), and guiding me to the acknowledgment of it and to acting in obedience to You, and my parents before me, and other favors of Yours to us, and inspire me with that. And its origin is from "wazaʿtu al-rajula ʿalā kadhā": when you urge him to it.
And Ibn Zayd said about that what Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said about His word dispose me to thank You for Your favor: he said: make me thankful for Your favor. And this which Ibn Zayd said about His word My Lord, dispose me — even though the meaning of the word returns to that, it is not the meaning of urging (al-īzāʿ) in the proper sense.
And His word and that I may do righteous deeds which please You — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: dispose me to do righteous deeds of the deeds which please You, and that is acting in obedience to Him and obedience to His Messenger, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him.
And His word and make righteous for me my offspring — he says: and make my affairs good for me in my offspring which You have bestowed upon me, by making them guides to faith in You, the following of Your good pleasure, and acting in obedience to You. Thus He described him, mighty is His praise, as good toward the fathers, the mothers, the sons, and the daughters. And it has been related that this verse was revealed concerning Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may Allah be pleased with him.
And His word Indeed, I have turned to You in repentance, and indeed I am among the Muslims — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says, reporting the statement of this man. Indeed, I have turned to You in repentance — he says: I have repented of my sins which befell me in my past days, to You. And indeed I am among the Muslims — he says: and I am among those who submit to You through obedience, who surrender to Your command and Your prohibition, who comply with Your judgment.
------------------------
Footnotes:
(1) Perhaps: fa-waṣṣāhu (so He enjoined upon him).
