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Qur'an 29:8

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Qur'an 29:8
Verse's Information
Suraal-'Ankabut
Verse8
Juz'20
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		Revealed concerning Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas whose mother swore an oath to turn him away from Islam.
Place of
Revelation		Mecca
Related VersesVerse 23 of Sura al-Isra • Verse 15 of Sura al-Ahqaf • Verses 14 and 15 of Sura Luqman


Qur'an 29:8 advises human beings to do good and show kindness to parents. However, it also forbids obeying them if they invite their child to polytheism. According to some exegetes, respect for parents is a universal matter and it is not exclusive to the religion of Islam. Nevertheless, disrespecting them is not permissible even if they call one to sin or polytheism. Citing narrations, exegetes have considered the mother's right to be prior to the father's. Some narrations have applied this verse to Prophet Muhammad (s) and Imam 'Ali (a). 'Allama Tabataba'i, a Shi'a exegete, considered this verse a rebuke for those who had believed in God but abandoned their faith due to their parents' insistence.

Introduction and Significance

Quran 29:8 recommends kindness and respect for parents while simultaneously forbidding obedience to them if they invite their children to polytheism.[1]

According to al-Tabrisi in Majma' al-bayan, this verse was revealed after the divine command to Muslims regarding Jihad against disbelievers and distancing themselves from them inorder to clarify the status of parents in such circumstances.[2] In this verse, kindness to parents is recommended without any condition or restriction.[3] However, if parents call their child to polytheism, one must not mistreat or disrespect them for this reason.[4] Makarim Shirazi does not consider this verse exclusive to believers and believes it states a universal law for all human beings.[5]

Kindness to parents has also been emphasized in other verses such as Qur'an 17:23 and Qur'an 46:15.[6] This verse has been cited in discussions related to respect for parents in both Shi'a[7] and Sunni[8] hadith sources. Furthermore, jurists in jurisprudential discussions[9] and scholars of ethics in educational and moral issues have cited this verse to explain the ruling on respect for parents.[10]

Text and Translation

﴾وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْنًا ۖ وَإِن جَاهَدَاكَ لِتُشْرِ‌كَ بِي مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا ۚ إِلَيَّ مَرْ‌جِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿
We have enjoined man to be good to his parents. But if they urge you to ascribe to Me as partner that of which you have no knowledge, then do not obey them. To Me will be your return, whereat I will inform you concerning that which you used to do.


The Best Parents

In the interpretation of Quran 29:8, exegetes have raised the priority of the mother's right over the father's, citing a narration from Prophet Muhammad (s).[11] In Tafsir al-Burhan, al-Bahrani has narrated traditions in which this verse is applied to the Prophet (s) and Imam 'Ali (a). They are introduced as the fathers of the Islamic Umma, the best parents, and the most deserving of gratitude because obedience to them leads to salvation from the fire of Hell and the attainment of eternal blessings.[12] He also narrated a tradition from Imam al-Sajjad (a) stating that if the right of parents is great due to their kindness to children, the kindness of the Prophet (s) and Imam 'Ali (a) to the Islamic Umma is far greater; therefore, their right is also greater.[13]

Occasion of Revelation

According to Tabataba'i, a Shi'a exegete, Qur'an 29:8 reprimands those who had believed in God but abandoned their faith under pressure from their parents.[14] According to some sources, this verse was revealed concerning Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas who after his migration to Medina, his mother swore an oath to turn him away from the religion of Islam.[15] Another account states that some men in Mecca converted to Islam, but their mothers decided to go on a hunger strike to turn them back from the religion of Islam. Although none of the mothers remained steadfast in their strike and eventually broke it, the mentioned verse was revealed to provide a clear guideline for dealing with parents regarding the issue of faith and disbelief.[16]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 16, p. 215.
  2. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 430.
  3. ↑ Qarāʾtī, Tafsīr-i nūr, vol. 7, p. 116.
  4. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 16, p. 216.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 16, p. 215.
  6. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 12, p. 73; vol. 21, p. 325.
  7. ↑ For example, see: Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 157; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 71, p. 22.
  8. ↑ See: Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 8, p. 2.
  9. ↑ Qummī Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ʿUmdat al-maṭālib, vol. 4, p. 218; Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, al-Fiqh, p. 650.
  10. ↑ Ḥāʾirī, Tazkiyat al-nafs, p. 459; Muḥammadī Rayshahrī, Tarbiya al-ṭifl, p. 165.
  11. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 8, p. 431; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i namūna, vol. 16, p. 218.
  12. ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, vol. 4, pp. 306-307.
  13. ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, vol. 4, p. 307.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 16, p. 104.
  15. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 8, p. 189.
  16. ↑ Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 8, p. 430.

References

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  • Bukhārī, Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl al-. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Ed. Muḥammad Zuhayr. Damascus, Dār Ṭawq al-Najāt, 1st ed., 1422 AH.
  • Ḥāʾirī, Sayyid Kāẓim. Tazkiyat al-nafs. N.p., n.p., n.d.
  • Ḥusaynī Shīrāzī, Sayyid Muḥammad. Al-Fiqh: al-silm wa al-salām. Beirut, Dār al-ʿUlūm, 1st ed., 1426 AH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Ed. ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī & Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 4th ed., 1407 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 2nd ed., 1403/1983.
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  • Muḥammadī Rayshahrī, Muḥammad. Tarbiya al-ṭifl fī l-Islām. Qom, Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1st ed., 1428 AH.
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  • Qummī Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Taqī. ʿUmdat al-maṭālib fī l-taʿlīq ʿalā l-makāsib. Qom, Kitābfurūshī-yi Maḥallātī, 1st ed., 1413 AH.
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  • Ṭabarsī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Ed. Faḍl Allāh Yazdī Ṭabāṭabāʾī & Hāshim Rasūlī. Tehran, Nāṣir Khusraw, 3rd ed., 1372 Sh.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Ed. Aḥmad Ḥabīb ʿĀmilī. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1st ed., n.d.
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