وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ إِحْسَانًا حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ كُرْهًا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًا وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَالُهُ ثَلَاثُونَ شَهْرًا حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي إِنِّي تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ﴿۱۵﴾ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ نَتَقَبَّلُ عَنْهُمْ أَحْسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا وَنَتَجَاوَزُ عَنْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ فِي أَصْحَابِ الْجَنَّةِ وَعْدَ الصِّدْقِ الَّذِي كَانُوا يُوعَدُونَ ﴿۱۶﴾

﴾15﴿ Wa wassainal insaana biwaalidaihi ihsaana; hamalat hu ummuhoo kurhanw-wa wada'at hu kurhanw wa hamluhoo wa fisaaluhoo salaasoona shahraa; hattaaa izaa balagha ashuddahoo wa balagha arba'eena sanatan qaala Rabbi awzi' neee an ashkura ni'matakal lateee an'amta 'alaiya wa 'alaa waalidaiya wa an a'mala saalihan tardaahu wa aslih lee fee zurriyyatee; innee tubtu ilaika wa innee minal muslimeen
﴾16﴿ Ulaaa'ikal lazeena nata qabbalu 'anhum ahsana maa 'amiloo wa natajaawazu 'an saiyiaatihim feee Ashaabil jannati Wa'das sidqil lazee kaanoo yoo'adoon

﴾15﴿ And We have enjoined upon man to be good to his parents. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his bearing and weaning take thirty months. Until, when he reaches his full strength and attains 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 do righteous deeds that please You. And make my offspring righteous for me. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of those who submit to Your commands."
﴾16﴿ Those are the people from whom We accept the best of their deeds and overlook their sins. They will be among the people of Paradise—a true promise that they were given

[15] From this verse until the end of the surah is the second section, in which two types of people are mentioned:
The first type is those who are kind to their parents and turn in repentance to Allah the Exalted—for them there is glad tidings.
The second type is those who disobey their parents and deny the truth—for them there is a warning of punishment in the Hereafter.
Then comes a worldly warning through the mention of the event of the people of ‘Ād, and a response to the polytheists’ doubt that their gods are unable to assist them.
Then comes a transmitted proof from the jinn to encourage the call to the Qur’an, confirm the truthfulness of the Messenger, and affirm the Resurrection.
The conclusion encourages patience and warns the deniers.
Connection: In the previous verses, two types of people were mentioned—those who deny the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) and the Qur’an, and those who affirm them.
Now, the same two categories are mentioned regarding parents. This contains a consolation for the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace): just as parents are very close and kind to a person, yet some children obey them and others disobey them, likewise, in relation to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), there are two kinds of people.
In verse 15, the first type is mentioned:
(Iḥsānā) – Kindness to parents is general and unrestricted, but obedience to them is conditional upon it not being sinful. Kindness includes speech, action, service, spending on them in times of need, and gently enjoining good and forbidding evil—all of this is included.
(Ḥamalat-hu ummuhu kurhan) – Since acknowledgment of the father’s kindness is often compelled (out of fear), and the mother is more physically weak, three types of hardship that she endures in raising the child are mentioned:
1. Pregnancy
2. Labor and childbirth
3. Nursing and weaning

The total duration of this is mentioned as two and a half years. This shows that the mother’s right is far greater than the father’s.
The narration from Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), reported by al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, and others, explains that the total of thirty months (as mentioned in another verse) is divided into two stages: if pregnancy lasts nine months, then nursing is twenty-one months; and if pregnancy is six months, then nursing is two full years.
Thus, nursing for more than two years is prohibited according to Sūrat al-Baqarah (2:233). Hence, it is understood that the minimum viable period of pregnancy is six months—it cannot be less than this.
(Wa balagha arba‘īna sanah) – This indicates that a person’s intellect becomes fully mature at the age of forty. Before that, due to childhood and youth, one may have committed mistakes. But when he reaches forty, the causes of sin weaken, his intellect is complete, and he naturally turns to repentance and devotes himself to gratitude. This is also a sign of a person’s blessedness.
(An ashkura ni‘matak) – Nazm al-Durar writes that the greatest divine blessing is the monotheism of worship.
(Wa an a‘mala ṣāliḥan tarḍāhu) – “Tarḍāhu” either describes the righteous deed—that it must conform to the Book and Sunnah—or it means that its acceptance is being asked for. That is, even if a deed is righteous, its acceptance is up to Allah the Exalted.
(Wa aṣliḥ lī fī dhurriyyatī) – The righteousness of offspring points to the continuation and preservation of monotheism and righteous action through one’s children. This righteousness is also a benefit for the parents. Since what is meant here is the bringing about of righteousness, it is linked with the preposition “fī” (in).
[16] This glad tidings is for people of this type, and the word “Ūlā’ika” is evidence that this verse is not specific to one particular person. Some commentators have mentioned the cause of revelation to be about the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), and others about Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).
(Aḥsana mā ‘amilū) – What is meant by it is all good deeds. Thus, aḥsan (the best) refers to anything that possesses the attribute of goodness (ḥusn). And ḥasan (good) also applies to what is merely permissible (mubāḥ)—meaning something for which there is neither reward nor punishment.