Allah, the Exalted, says:

"And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], 'uff,' and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word. And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, 'My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.' Your Lord knows what is within yourselves. If you should be righteous, then indeed He is, to the oft-repentant, Forgiving."

"Qada" in this verse means: He commanded, obligated, and made it necessary upon you, as people have said. I say: The meaning is: And your Lord has decreed His command "that you not worship except Him," and there is nothing in these words except a command to restrict worship to Allah. That is what is decreed, not the essence of worship itself. And "qada" in the speech of the Arabs means: The completed decree is firm, and the decree here is the command. In the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud, it is written: "And He enjoined," and this is the reading of his companions and the reading of Ibn Abbas, and Al-Nakha'i, and Sa'id ibn Jubair, and Maymun ibn Mehran, and likewise according to Ubayy ibn Ka'b. And Al-Dahhak said: It was mistakenly written by a group as "waṣṣa" instead of "qada" when the waw mixed with the sad at the time of writing the Mushaf.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is weak, and the reading is transmitted with a chain. Abu Hatim mentioned from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, something similar to the saying of Al-Dahhak, and he said about Maymun ibn Mehran: He said: "Indeed, according to the saying of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, there is light. Allah, the Exalted, said: 'He has ordained for you in religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which (p-461) We have revealed to you' [Ash-Shura: 13]. Then Ibn Hatim weakened that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said that, and he said: 'If we said this, the heretics would attack our Mushaf.' And the pronoun in "ta'budu" refers to all of creation, and on this interpretation, the predecessors and the majority have proceeded. Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan was asked by a man who said to him: Indeed, I divorced my wife three times. Al-Hasan said to him: You have disobeyed your Lord, and your wife has been separated from you three times. The man said to him: That has been decreed upon me. Al-Hasan said - and he was eloquent -: What Allah has decreed means: What Allah has commanded, and he recited this verse. The people said: Al-Hasan spoke about predestination.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is possible that "qada" is used in its famous meaning in speech, and the pronoun in "ta'budu" refers to the believers among the people until the Day of Resurrection. However, on the first interpretation, His saying: "And to parents, good treatment" is an addition to the first "that"; that is: Allah commanded that you not worship except Him and that you treat your parents with good treatment. And on this possibility that we mentioned, His saying: "And to parents, good treatment" may be disconnected from the first; for He informed them of the decree of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, then commanded them to do good to their parents.

And "Imma" is conditional. Ibn Kathir, Nafi, Abu 'Umar, Asim, and Ibn 'Amir read: "Yablughanna." It was narrated from Ibn Dhakwan: "Yablughun" with the lightening of the noon. Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "Yablughanni," which is the reading of Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, Yahya, Talhah, Al-A'mash, and Al-Jahdari. This is the heavy noon that entered as an emphasis, and it is not the noon of duality. So, according to the first two readings, his saying: "One of them" is a substitute for the pronoun in "Yablughanni," and it is a dividing substitute like the saying of the poet:

And I was like one with two legs: one sound leg ∗∗∗ and a man whom time struck and he became lame.

And it is permissible that "One of them" is the subject, and his saying: "Or both of them" is an addition to it. This would be according to the language of those who said: "The locusts ate me." Some grammarians mentioned this in this verse, and Sibawayh does not see a place for this language in the Noble Qur'an.

Abu 'Amr read: "Ufi" with a kasrah on the fa and leaving the tanween. This is the reading of Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr. Nafi, Al-Hasan, Al-A'raj, Abu Ja'far, Shaibah, and 'Isa read: "Uff" with a kasrah and tanween. Ibn Kathir and Ibn 'Amir read: "Uff" with a fathah on the fa. Abu al-Sammal read: "Ufu" with a dammah on the fa. Ibn 'Abbas read: "Ufa" lightly. All of this is a construction, except that Nafi's reading gives the indefiniteness, as you say: "Eh." And in it are languages that have not been read: "Uff" with rafa and tanween, on the basis that Harun narrated it as a reading, and "Uffan" with nasb and tanween, and "Ufi" with a ya after the kasrah, as narrated by Al-Akhfash the Elder, and "Ufa" with an alif after the fathah, and "Uff" with the sukoon of the heavy fa, and "Ufu" like Rab. And among the Arabs are those who incline "Ufa," and among them are those who add a ha of silence, saying: "Ufahu."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the meaning of the word is that it is a verb name, as if the one who intends to say: I am annoyed, or: I am disgusted, or: I dislike, or something like this, expresses concisely with this word, giving the meaning of the mentioned action. And Allah, the Exalted, made this word a metaphor for everything that parents might dislike. So, this word is not rejected in itself, but it is a metaphor for the greater and the lesser. This is the understanding of the unspoken address, the ruling of which is the ruling of the mentioned.

And "Al-Intihar" is the manifestation of anger in the voice and words. And "Al-Qawl Al-Karim" is that which encompasses virtues, of gentleness and the goodness of meaning and the inclusion of righteousness. This is as you say: a noble garment, meaning that it is full of virtues. And "Al-Uff" is the filth of the nails. A group said: This word in the verse is taken from that. Mujahid said regarding Allah's saying: "So do not say to them: Uff" that its meaning is: If you see from them in the state of old age, the excrement and urine that they saw from you in your childhood, do not despise them and say: Uff.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the verse is more general than this saying, and it is included in the totality of what it necessitates. Abu al-Sarraj al-Tujibi said: I said to Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib: All that is in the Qur'an regarding the righteousness towards parents I have known except for His saying: ﴿And speak to them a noble word﴾, what is this noble saying? Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib said: The saying of the sinful servant to the harsh master.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy﴾ is a metaphor, meaning: cut off from you the side of humiliation, and be gentle with them in your soul and character. And the mention of humiliation is emphasized here and was not mentioned in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And lower your wing to those who follow you of the believers﴾ [Ash-Shu'ara: 215], and that is according to the greatness of the right here. The majority read: "humility" with a Dhamma on the dhāl, while Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Ibn Abbas, and Urwah ibn al-Zubayr read: "humiliation" with a Kasra on the dhāl, and it was narrated from Asim ibn Abi al-Najud. And "humiliation" in animals is the opposite of "difficulty," and from it: the gentle camel, and the meaning is close. According to the ruling of this verse, a person should place himself with his parents in a state of humility in his words, actions, and gaze, and not limit his sight to them, for that is the gaze of the angry. And in the hadith, "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'May Allah distance him and cast him away.' They said: Who, O Messenger of Allah? He said: 'Whoever reaches his parents or one of them and is not forgiven.'"

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿out of mercy﴾, the "out of" here indicates the type, meaning that this lowering should be from the mercy that resides in the soul, not that it is an act of usage, and it is correct that it can be for the beginning of the goal.

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, commanded His servants to invoke mercy upon their parents and to mention their favors upon them in upbringing; so that remembering that state increases a person’s compassion towards them and affection for them, and all of this is for believing parents. And the Qur'an has prohibited seeking forgiveness for the polytheists who are dead, even if they are relatives, and it has been mentioned from Ibn Abbas here the wording of abrogation, and this is not a place of abrogation.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿Your Lord knows best what is in your souls﴾ means: of believing in mercy towards them and being tender towards them, or other than that, and they make their apparent righteousness towards them as a show. Then He promised, glorified and exalted is He, at the end of the verse forgiveness with the condition of righteousness and repentance after returning to the obedience of Allah. The expressions of people regarding "the repentant" differ; one group said: they are the reformers, and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: they are the ones who glorify, and he also said: they are the obedient and the doers of good, and Ibn al-Munkadir said: they are those who pray the Maghrib and Isha prayers, and that is because "the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked about the prayer at that time and he said: 'That is the prayer of the repentant.'"

(p-465) And it was said, other than that, from those who seek forgiveness and similar to it. And Awn al-Aqili said: They are those who perform the Duha prayer. The true meaning of the term is that it is from: 'aba yu'awwibu if he returns, and all of these have a return to the obedience of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. However, it is a term that has become customary among the people of righteousness. Ibn al-Musayyib said: It is the servant who repents, then sins, then repents, then sins, then repents. The majority interpreted 'the oft-repenting' as those who return to good. Ibn Jubayr said: By His saying: 'Forgiving for the oft-repenting,' he meant the slip and the mistake that occurs from a man towards one of his parents, while he does not persist on it in his heart, nor does Allah know it from himself. And a group said: 'Lowering the wing' means not to refrain from anything they desire.