Tafseer of The City · Al-Balad · 90:3
And [by] the father and that which was born [of him],
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.
And His saying: وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot"). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and I swear by a begetter and by his child whom he begot.
Then the scholars of interpretation differed concerning who is meant thereby, namely the begetter and what he begot. Some of them said: by "the begetter" is meant every begetter, and by "what he begot": every barren one who has not begotten.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning: وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: the begetter: the one who produces offspring, and what he begot: the barren one to whom no child is born.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: the barren one, and she who produces offspring.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of al-Naḍr ibn ʿArabī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: the barren one, and she who produces offspring.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: it is the begetter and his child.
And others said: by it is meant: Ādam and his child.
* Mention of those who said that:
Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Abī Zāʾida related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: the begetter: Ādam, and what he begot: his child.
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 saying: وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: his child.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: Ādam and what he begot.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: Ādam and what he begot.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, concerning the saying of Allah وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: Ādam and what he begot.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say, concerning His saying: وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: the begetter: Ādam, and what he begot: his child.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, concerning His saying: وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: Ādam and what he begot.
Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, concerning His saying: وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: Ādam and what he begot.
And others said: by it is meant: Ibrāhīm and what he begot.
* Mention of those who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ḥarashī related to me, saying: Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard Abū ʿImrān al-Jawnī reciting: وَوَالِدٍ وَمَا وَلَدَ ("And by a begetter and what he begot") — he said: Ibrāhīm and what he begot.
And the correct statement concerning this is: that which those said who held that Allah swore by every begetter and his child, because Allah comprehended every begetter and what he begot in a general manner. And it is not permissible to restrict that except by a proof to which one must submit, whether from a transmitted report or from reason; and there is no transmitted report restricting this, nor any binding proof for restricting it. So it remains in its general meaning, just as He made it general.
