Allah gives instructions regarding the parents. These appear in many places of the Qura^an
Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be dutiful to your parents
Be grateful to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination
(And We have enjoined on man to be dutiful and kind to his parents.)
`We have commanded him to treat them well and show compassion towards them. Note, this is a command from Allah swt . Here Allah swt addresses everyone regardless of Muslims or non-Muslims. Its a command to all humanity.
Recorded by Muslim, and the Sunan compiles, except for Ibn Majah. Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded from Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, that his mother said to him: "Hasn't Allah commanded that you obey your parents Then I will not eat any food or drink any drink until you disbelieve in Allah." Thus she stubbornly abstained from eating and drinking, until they had to open her mouth with a stick
the the following ayah was revealed
And We have enjoined on man to be dutiful and kind to his parents.
His mother bears him with hardship.
which means that the mother suffers hardship because of her child, such as fatigue, sickness, vomiting, heaviness, distress, and other forms of hardship that the pregnant women suffer.
And she delivers him with hardship
meaning, she also delivers him with hardship, suffering the pains of labor and their severity.
And (the period of) his gestation and weaning is thirty months,
Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, used this Ayah along with the following two Ayat to prove that the minimum period of pregnancy (gestation) is six months
﴾وَفِصَالُهُ فِى عَامَيْنِ﴿
And his weaning is in two years. "this statement in 31:14 (Luqman) was used by Ali to correct Uthman..read below the complete naration..
Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar narrated from Ba`jah bin `Abdullah Al-Juhani that a man from his tribe (Juhaynah) married a woman from Juhaynah. She delivered a baby after six months. So her husband went to `Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, and told him about that. Thus, `Uthman summoned her. When she was getting dressed, her sister started crying. She asked her: "Why do you cry By Allah, no one has ever approached me (for sexual relations) of Allah's creation except him (my husband). So let Allah decree (for me) as He wills." When she was brought before `Uthman, he commanded that she be stoned to death (for adultery). `Ali heard of this, came to `Uthman, and said: "What are you doing" He (`Uthman) said: "She delivered after six months! Can this ever happen" `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "don't you read the Qur'an? On this Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), said: "yes, of course!". Ali then said "havent you heard Allah's saying and reccited this
and his gestation and weaning is thirty months
and this statement
two complete years (2:233)
two complete years
Subtracting the two numbers we are only left with six months
`Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "By Allah, I did not see that! Bring the woman back."
Ba'jah continued:
"By Allah, no two crows and no two eggs are more similar than that child turned out to be to his father! When his father saw that he said, `By Allah! This is my son without any doubtLater on, Allah afflicted him with a skin abscess in his face (because of his false accusation to his wife). It kept eating him up until he died."
Ibn Abi Hatim related from his father that Farwah bin Abi Al-Maghra told them that `Ali bin Mushir narrated to them from Dawud bin Abi Hind, who narrated from `Ikrimah that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "When a woman delivers after nine months, the baby will only need twenty-one months of suckling. When she delivers after seven months, the baby will need twenty-three months of suckling. When she delivers after six months, the baby will need two full years of suckling,
Allah says
and his gestation and weaning is thirty months, till when he attains full strength
meaning, he decomes strong, youthful, and attains full ability.
Allah then says
and reaches forty years
which means his complete intellect, understanding, and patience reach the level of maturity. It has also been said that usually one will not change his ways once he reaches the age of forty.
Dua for parents
he says: "My Lord! Grant me the power and ability
meaning, "inspire me"
that I may be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and that I may do righteous good deeds, such as please You,
meaning, in the future
and make my offspring good
which means my offspring and decendants
Truly, I have turned to You in repentance, and truly, I am one of the Muslims.
This contains an instruction for anyone who reaches forty years of age to renew his repentance and turn to Allah with strong resolution.
then Allah says
Those are the ones from whom We shall accept the best of what they did and overlook their evil deeds. (They shall be) among the dwellers of Paradise
meaning, those to whom applies the above description -- those who repent to Allah, turn back to Him, and rectify their shortcomings through repentance and seeking forgiveness - those are the ones from whom We will accept the best of what they did and overlook their evil deeds. Many of their errors will be forgiven and Allah will accept from them a modest amount of deeds.
among the dwellers of Paradise
which means that they will be among the dwellers of Paradise. That is Allah's ruling concerning them, as He has promised for those who repent and turn to Him
That is the promise of truth that they had been promised
In this beautiful revelation Allah swt emphasises the importance of parents to everyone. Here Allah swt is addressing entire humanity, not just muslims or believers. Since this is a command from Allah swt, we muslims should take extra responsibility towards or parents as they age. This beautiful revelation shows how to supplicate for parents by thanking Allah swt first for creating you and then your parents for bringing you in this world and also supplicate for offsprings that follow you. May Allah swt grant the highest place in Jannah to our parents and give us believing children and the generation that follow.