His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. But if they endeavor to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them. To Me is your return, and I will inform you about what you used to do." "And those who have believed and done righteous deeds, We will surely admit them among the righteous." "And of the people are some who say, 'We have believed in Allah.' But when they are harmed for the cause of Allah, they consider the trial of the people as the punishment of Allah. And if there comes to you a victory from your Lord, they will surely say, 'Indeed, we were with you.' Is not Allah most Knowing of what is within the breasts of the worlds?" "And Allah will surely make evident those who have believed, and He will make evident the hypocrites." His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents." It has been narrated from Qatadah that it was revealed regarding Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. This is because he migrated, and his mother swore that she would not shade herself until he returned to her and disbelieved in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. He persisted in his migration, and the verse was revealed. It was said rather that it was revealed regarding 'Ayyash ibn Abi Rabiah, because he was similarly tempted in his religion; as Abu Jahl, may Allah's curse be upon him, deceived him and turned him back to his mother... The narration is in the book of Sirah. There is no doubt that it was revealed regarding those who were among the believers in Mecca, who suffered from the struggle with their parents concerning Islam and migration. So the intent of this verse is the prohibition of obeying the parents in such a great matter. Since being dutiful to parents and obeying them is one of the matters that the Shari'ah has established and emphasized, and it is one of the strong, binding matters for them, Allah, exalted is He, preceded the prohibition of obeying them in associating partners with Allah with His saying: "And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents." This means: We do not permit disobedience to parents, but we do not allow obedience to them in disobedience to Allah, especially in the meaning of faith and disbelief. And His saying: "[care] for his parents" can be understood as an accusative, and in that there is a figurative expression, and it is facilitated by the fact that it is general for meanings, as when you say: 'I enjoined you to do good' or 'I enjoined you to do evil,' expressing by that the entirety of what you said to him. And this is reinforced without the preposition due to the preposition in His saying: "for his parents"; because the meaning is: And We have enjoined upon man to do good in his actions with his parents. An example of this is the saying of the poet: I was amazed by the dark one when she complained, and by Abu Dahmah when he advised us to do good by her, as if we had abandoned her. And it is possible that the second object in His saying: "for his parents" is implied, and "[care] for his parents" is understood by an implied action, the meaning of which is: he does good, and it is understood as the position of the subject. And 'Isa and Al-Jahdari read: "[care] for his parents" with two openings. Al-Jahdari said: In the Imam it is written: "[care] for his parents in doing good." Abu Hatim said: Meaning like Al-Ahqaf. Al-Thalabi said: In the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him: "[care] for his parents in doing good." And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "To Me is your return" is a warning regarding the obedience to parents in the meaning of disbelief.

Then He, the Exalted, repeated the example of the believers to stir the souls to attain their ranks. His saying, "We will surely admit them among the righteous," is an exaggeration, meaning: those who are at the pinnacle of righteousness and the furthest reaches of it. When this ruling is attained for the believers, its fruit is attained, and its reward is Paradise.

And His saying, "And among the people..." until His saying, "And surely He will make known the hypocrites," was revealed concerning a group of Muslims who were in Mecca, concealing their Islam. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, said: When the disbelievers of Quraysh went out to Badr, they brought along a group of these people. Some of them were killed. The Muslims said: They were our companions and were coerced, so they sought forgiveness for them. Then was revealed: "Indeed, those whom the angels take in death while they are wronging themselves..." [An-Nisa: 97]. He said: The Muslims wrote to those who remained in Mecca with this verse, that there is no excuse for them. They went out, and the polytheists caught up with them, and they subjected them to temptation and returned them to Mecca. Then the verse was revealed concerning them: "And among the people are some who say, 'We have believed in Allah...'" The Muslims wrote to them about this, and they became saddened and despaired of all good. Then it was revealed concerning them: "Then indeed, your Lord for those who emigrated after they were tempted, then strove and were patient, indeed, your Lord after that is Forgiving and Merciful" [An-Nahl: 110]. The Muslims wrote to them about this, that Allah, the Exalted, had made for you a way out, so they left. The polytheists caught up with them and fought them, so whoever was saved was saved, and whoever was killed was killed.

And Ibn Zayd said: His saying, "He made the temptation of the people..." was revealed concerning hypocrites who disbelieved when they were harmed.

And His saying, "The temptation of the people is like the punishment of Allah," means: It was difficult for him to endure the harm of the people when they turned him away. His right was that he should not pay attention to it and should be patient with it in light of his salvation from the punishment of Allah, the Exalted. Then He, the Exalted, removed the place of their attachment and their deception if victory were to come. Then He confirmed them with His knowledge, the Exalted, of what was in their hearts, meaning: If there had been complete certainty and pure Islam, they would not have hesitated for an hour, and they would have faced every terror to their migration and the home of their Prophet.

And His saying, "And Allah will surely make known those who have believed and He will surely make known the hypocrites," is explained as it has been previously mentioned in its analogy.

And here ends the Madani commentary in this Surah.