His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination." "And if they endeavor to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them. And to them, associate with them in this world in kindness. And follow the path of he who turns back to Me. Then to Me will be your return, and I will inform you about what you used to do." These two verses are an interruption during the advice of Luqman. Al-Tabari directed this by saying that it is from the meaning of Luqman's words and what he intended. This is not directed, as the fact that the two verses are concerning Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas - according to what is mentioned later - weakens the notion that they are from what Luqman said. Rather, it resembles an interruption during the sermon, and this does not invalidate the first or the latter. When he finished these two verses, he returned to the sermon with the implication of: "And Luqman also said," then he abbreviated that for the indication of what preceded it. This verse associates Allah, exalted and majestic is He, with the mother and father in the rank of the command to be dutiful to them. Then He specified the mother by the degree of mentioning the carrying and by the degree of mentioning the nursing. Thus, the mother attained three ranks, while the father attained one. This resembles the saying of the Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, when a man asked him: "Who is most deserving of my good company?" He said: "Your mother." The man asked: "Then who?" He said: "Your mother." The man asked again: "Then who?" He said: "Your mother." The man asked once more: "Then who?" He said: "Then your father." Thus, he was given a quarter of the dutifulness like the verse. And "with hardship upon hardship" means: weakness upon weakness. It was said: it refers to the difficulty of carrying and the difficulty of childbirth afterward. It was said: it refers to the weakness of the child and the weakness of the mother with him. It is possible that it refers to the progression of her condition in increasing weakness, as if he did not specify two weaknesses, but rather as if he said: His mother carried him and the weakness increases after weakness until its term is completed. And 'Isa al-Thaqafi read: "with hardship upon hardship" with the 'h' opened, and it was narrated from Abu Amr. They both have the same meaning. The majority of people read: "And his weaning," while al-Hasan, al-Jahdari, and Ya'qub read: "And his separation." He referred to weaning by specifying the duration of nursing, thus he expressed it by its ultimate and end. The people are unanimous on "the two years" in the duration of nursing in the matters of rulings and expenses. As for the prohibition of milk, one group specified it to be two years with no increase or decrease. Another group said: the two years and what is connected to them from the month or similar if the nursing is continuous in one ruling is prohibited. A third group said: if the child is weaned before two years and leaves the milk, then whatever he drinks after that in the two years is not prohibited. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Be grateful" it is possible that the implication is: by being grateful, and it is possible that it is an explanation. Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah said: Whoever prays the five prayers has indeed thanked Allah, exalted and majestic is He, and whoever supplicates for his parents at the end of the prayers has indeed thanked them. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "to Me is the [final] destination" is a warning during the command.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And if they strive against you﴾. It has been narrated that these two verses were revealed concerning Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. This is because his mother - and she is Hamnah bint Abi Sufyan ibn Umayyah - swore that she would neither eat nor drink until he renounced his religion and returned to the religion of his forefathers and his people. So Sa'd persisted in Islam. It is narrated that when she was severely thirsty, they would cut her mouth, and it is narrated: they would open it with a stick or something similar and pour into it what would relieve her. When this prolonged and she saw that Sa'd would not return, she ate. Thus, in this story, the verses were revealed, as stated by Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and a group of the commentators.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the first verse corresponds with the kindness to parents and its ruling. Then it ruled that this does not apply in cases of disbelief and sins. The summary of this matter is that the obedience to parents is not considered in committing a major sin, nor in neglecting an obligatory act in specific cases. Their obedience is required in permissible matters and is commendable in leaving recommended acts. Among these is the obligation of jihad of sufficiency and responding to the mother in prayer when it is possible to repeat it. This is stronger than the recommended acts, but it is justified by the fear of her destruction or something similar that permits breaking the prayer, so it is not stronger than the recommended acts. Al-Hasan disagreed in this detail and said: If his mother prevents him from attending the last prayer out of compassion, then he should not obey her.

And His saying: ﴿And be good to them in this world﴾ means: to the disbelieving parents. That is, maintain ties with them through wealth and call them gently. Among this is the saying of Asma bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her, to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him - when her maternal aunt came to her, and it is said: her mother by breastfeeding - she said: O Messenger of Allah, my mother has come to me and she desires (to reconcile), should I maintain ties with her? He said: Yes.

And desiring (to reconcile) is said to mean: desiring (to reconcile) away from Islam.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the most apparent to me is that she desires reconciliation, and she would not have come to Asma unless she had a need. And the mother of Asma is Qutaylah bint Abd al-Uzza ibn Abd al-As'ad, and the mother of Aisha and Abd al-Rahman is Umm Ruman, an early Muslim.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And follow the path of whoever has turned to Me﴾ is a command for all the scholars, as if the commanded person is human. And "turned" means: inclined and returned to something. This is the path of the prophets and the righteous. Al-Naqqash narrated that the commanded one is Sa'd, and the one who turned is Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them. And he said: "When Abu Bakr accepted Islam, Sa'd, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and Uthman, and Talhah, and Sa'id, and al-Zubayr came to him and said: Have you believed? He said: Yes. Then the verse ﴿Is he who spends the night prostrating and standing﴾ [Az-Zumar: 9] was revealed concerning him. When the six heard it, they believed. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed concerning them ﴿And those who have avoided false deities and turned to Allah, for them is good tidings﴾ [Az-Zumar: 17] until His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Those are the ones whom Allah has guided﴾ [Az-Zumar: 18]. Then He threatened, the Mighty and Majestic, with resurrection from the graves, and returning for recompense, and being held accountable for small and great deeds.