17. Surah Al Isra
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
لاَّ تَجْعَل
مَعَ اللّهِ
إِلَـهًا آخَرَ ...
17: 22. Take not with Allah another object of worship;
C2202. The seeming inequality of gifts to men might make short-sighted men impugn the impartiality of Allah. But the fault lies with such men's own want of knowledge and want of Faith. There is no excuse for them to seek other objects of worship than Allah. For there is none worthy of worship except Allah.
... فَتَقْعُدَ مَذْمُومًا مَّخْذُولاً ﴿٢٢﴾
or thou (O man!) wilt sit in disgrace and destitution.
C2203. If foolish men turn to false objects of worship, they will not only be disappointed, but they will lose the respect of their own fellow-men, and spiritually they will be reduced to destitution. All their talents and their works will be of no avail.
وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ
أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ
إِلاَّ إِيَّاهُ
وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ
إِحْسَانًا...
17: 23. Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him,
and that ye be kind to parents.
...إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلاَهُمَا ...
Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life,
C2204. The spiritual and moral duties are now brought into juxtaposition.
We are to worship none but Allah, because none but Allah is worthy of worship, not because "the Lord thy God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me" (Exod. 20:5).
Note that the act of worship may be collective as well as individual; hence the plural ta'buda.
The kindness to parents is an individual act of piety; hence the singular taqul, qul, etc.
... فَلاَ تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ وَلاَ تَنْهَرْهُمَا...
say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them,
...وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلاً كَرِيمًا ﴿٢٣﴾
but address them in terms of honor.
وَاخْفِضْ
لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ
الذُّلِّ مِنَ
الرَّحْمَةِ
وَقُل...
17: 24. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say:
The metaphor is that of a high-flying bird which lowers her wing out of tenderness to her offspring. There is a double aptness.
1. When the parent was strong and the child was helpless, parental affection was showered on the child:
when the child grows up and is strong, and the parent is helpless, can he do less than bestow similar tender care on the parent?
2. But more: he must approach the matter with gentle humility: for does not parental love, remind him of the great love with which Allah cherishes His creatures?
There is something here more than simple human gratitude; it goes up into the highest spiritual region.
...رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا ﴿٢٤﴾
"My Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood."
C2206. Note that we are asked to honour our father and mother, not "that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee" (Exod. 20:12), but upon much higher and more universal grounds, such as befit a perfected revelation.
- In the first place, not merely respect, but cherishing kindness, and humility to parents, are commanded.
- In the second place, this command is bracketed with the command to worship the One True God.
Parental love should be to us a type of divine love: nothing that we can do can ever really compensate for that which we have received.
In the third place (see next verse) our spiritual advancement is tested by this: we cannot expect Allah's forgiveness if we are rude or unkind to those who unselfishly brought us up.
Asad’s Version:
17:22 Do not set up with God another god; or you will find yourself disgraced, abandoned.
17:23 Your Lord decreed that you shall not serve except Him, and do good to your parents. When one of them or both of them reaches old age, do not say to them a word of disrespect nor raise your voice at them, but say to them a kind saying.
17:24 Lower for them the wing of humility through mercy, and say, "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they have raised me when I was small."
31. sura Luqman
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَوَصَّيْنَا
الْإِنسَانَ
بِوَالِدَيْهِ...
31:14 [Ali]. And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents:
...حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ وَهْنًا عَلَى وَهْنٍ...
in travail upon travail did his mother bear him,
...وَفِصَالُهُ فِي عَامَيْنِ...
and in years twain was his weaning:
C3596. The set of milk teeth in a human child is completed at the age of two years, which is therefore the natural extreme limit for breast-feeding.
In our artificial life the duration is much less.
...أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ ...
(hear the command),
"Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents:
...إِلَيَّ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿١٤﴾
to Me is (thy final) Goal.
وَإِن
جَاهَدَاكَ
عَلى أَن تُشْرِكَ
بِي مَا لَيْسَ
لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ
...
31: 15. "But if they strive to make thee join in worship with Me things of which thou hast no knowledge,
C3597. Where the duty to man conflicts with the duty to Allah, it means that there is something wrong with the human will, and we should obey Allah rather than man.
But even here, it does not mean that we should be arrogant or insolent. To parents and those in authority, we must be kind, considerate, and courteous, even where they command things which we should not do and therefore disobedience becomes our highest duty.
The worship of things other than Allah is the worship of false things, things which are alien to our true knowledge, things that go against our own pure nature as created by Allah.
... فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا...
obey them not;
...وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِي الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوفًا...
yet bear them company in this life with justice (and consideration),
...وَاتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ مَنْ أَنَابَ إِلَيَّ...
and follow the way of those who turn to Me (in love):
C3598. In any apparent conflict of duties our standard should be Allah's Will, as declared to us by His command.
That is the way of those who love Allah: and their motive in disobedience to parents or human authority where disobedience is necessary by Allah's Law is not self willed rebellion or defiance, but love of Allah, which means the true love of man in the highest sense of the word.
And the reason we should give is:
"Both you and I have to return to Allah; therefore not only must I follow Allah's Will, but you must command nothing against Allah's Will."
...ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ...
in the End the return of you all is to Me,
... فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٥﴾
and I will tell you the truth (and meaning) of all that ye did."
C3599. These conflicts may appear to us strange and puzzling in this life. But in Allah's Presence we shall see their real meaning and significance.
- It may be that that was one way in which our true mettle could be tested: for it is not easy to disobey and love man at the same time.
Asad’s Version:
31:14
"And [God says:] 'We have enjoined upon man goodness towards his parents: his mother bore him by bearing strain upon strain, and his utter dependence on her lasted two years:" (hence, O man,] be grateful towards Me and towards thy parents, (and remember that] with Me is all journeys' end. 15
(31:15) '"[Revere thy parents;] yet should they endeavour to make thee ascribe
divinity, side by side with Me, to something which thy mind cannot accept (as divine], 16 obey them not; but (even then] bear them company in this world's life with kindness, and follow the path of those who turn towards Me. In the end, unto Me you all must return; and thereupon I shall make you (truly] understand all that you were doing (in life].'
46 sura Al-Ahqaf
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَوَصَّيْنَا
الْإِنسَانَ
بِوَالِدَيْهِ
إِحْسَانًا
...
46: 15. We have enjoined on man Kindness to his parents:
... حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ كُرْهًا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا...
in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth.
...وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَالُهُ ثَلَاثُونَ شَهْرًا...
The carrying of the (child) to his weaning is (a period of) thirty months.
C4790. In 31:14 the time of weaning was stated to be at the age of two years, i.e., 24 months. See also 2:233.
That leaves six months as the minimum period of human gestation after which the child is known to be viable.
This is in accordance with the latest ascertained scientific facts. The average period is 280 days, or ten times the inter-menstrual period, and of course the average period of weaning is much less than 24 months.
The maximum period of breast-feeding (2 years) is again in accordance with the time that the first dentition is ordinarily completed in a human child.
The lower milk incisors in the centre come out between the 6th and 9th months; then come out the milk teeth at intervals, until the canines appear. The second molars come out at about 24 months, and with them the child has a complete apparatus of milk teeth. Nature now expects him to chew and masticate and be independent of his mother's milk completely. On the other hand it hurts the mother to feed from the breast after the child has a complete set of milk teeth.
The permanent teeth begin at the sixth year, and the second molars come at 12 years. The third molars are the wisdom teeth, which may appear at 18 to 20 years, or not at all.
...حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ...
At length, when he reaches the age of full strength and attains forty years, he says,
C4791. The age of full strength (ashudd) is held to be between 18 and 30 To 32. Between 30 and 40 the man is in his best manhood. After that he begins to look to his growing issue, and rightly commends the new generation to Allah. Perhaps his spiritual faculties also gain the upper hand after 40.
...رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ...
"O my Lord!
grant me that I may be grateful for Thy favor which Thou hast bestowed upon me, and upon both my parents,
...وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي...
and that I may work righteousness such as Thou mayest approve;
and be gracious to me in my issue.
...إِنِّي تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ﴿١٥﴾
Truly have I turned to Thee and truly do I bow (to Thee) in Islam."
أُوْلَئِكَ
الَّذِينَ
نَتَقَبَّلُ
عَنْهُمْ
أَحْسَنَ
مَا
عَمِلُوا...
46: 16. Such are they from whom We shall accept the best of their deeds
...وَنَتَجاوَزُ عَن سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ فِي أَصْحَابِ الْجَنَّةِ...
and pass by their ill deeds:
(they shall be) among the Companions of the Garden:
...وَعْدَ الصِّدْقِ الَّذِي كَانُوا يُوعَدُونَ ﴿١٦﴾
a promise of truth, which was made to them (in this life).
Asad’s Version:
46:15 NOW [among the best of the deeds which] We have enjoined upon man is goodness towards his parents."
In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth; and her bearing him and his utter dependence on her took thirty months. 17 And so, when he attains to full maturity and reaches forty years, 18 he [that is righteous] prays: "O my Sustainer! Inspire me so that I may forever be grateful for those blessings of Thine with which Thou hast graced me and my parents, and that I may do what is right [in a manner] that will meet with Thy goodly acceptance; and grant me righteousness in my offspring [as well]. Verily, unto Thee have I turned in repentance: 19 for, verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves unto Thee!"
46:16 It is [such as] these from whom We shall accept the best that they ever did, 20 and whose bad deeds We shall overlook: [they will find themselves] among those who are destined for paradise, in fulfilment of the true promise which they were given [in this world].
[[ Asad’s notes - 17 See note 14 on 31:14.
1 8 I.e., the age at which man is supposed to attain to full intellectual and spiritual maturity. It is to be borne in mind that the masculine noun insan ("man" or "human being") appearing in the first sentence of this verse applies to both sexes alike.
19 Sc, "of whatever sin I may have committed". Seenote41 on the last sentence of 24:31.
20 I.e., "whom We shall reward in accordance with the best that they ever did" : cf. 29:7. ]]