His saying, exalted is He:

﴿And worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, and to parents, do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor far away, the companion at your side, and the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful﴾.

The "and" is for connecting one sentence to another, and worship is: being humble through obedience. From it, there is a path that is paved, and a camel that is trained, if they are taught. And "do good" is in the accusative case, and the implied action is: and do good to parents. What al-Tabari mentioned that it is in the accusative due to encouragement is incorrect. Fulfilling the rights of parents that are obligatory upon them, such as respect, protection, and spending - if they are in need - is mandatory. The rest of that from the aspects of righteousness, kindness, good speech, and being considerate towards them is recommended and strongly emphasized. This is the righteousness in which the mother is preferred over the father, according to his saying, blessings and peace be upon him, to the one who asked him: "Who is most deserving of my good treatment? He said: Your mother. He said: Then who? He said: Your mother. He said: Then who? He said: Your mother. He said: Then who? He said: Your father. Then the closest relatives." In one narration: "Then the closest, then the closest." And Ibn Abi Abla read "do good" in the nominative case.

And the near relatives are those who are related by blood from the paternal and maternal sides. This is a command to maintain family ties and preserve them. And "orphans" is the plural of orphan, which is one who has lost his father before reaching maturity. If it is mentioned in the speech of the Arabs as orphaned from the mother, it is a metaphor and an analogy. And "the needy" are those who are impoverished among the Muslims to whom zakat is due, and they openly ask.

There is a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of "the near neighbor" and "the far neighbor". Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, and others said: The near neighbor is the neighbor who is close in kinship, and the far neighbor is the foreign neighbor with whom there is no kinship. Nauf al-Shami said: The near neighbor is the Muslim neighbor, and the far neighbor is the Jewish or Christian neighbor; thus, there is kinship of Islam and foreignness of disbelief. A group said: The near neighbor is the neighbor who is close in residence to you, and the far neighbor is the one who is far in residence from you. It seems that this saying is derived from the hadith. Aisha said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have two neighbors, to whom should I send a gift? He said: To the one whose door is closest to you."

There is a difference among people regarding the definition of neighbor. Al-Awza'i said: Forty houses from every direction is considered a neighbor. A group said: Whoever hears the call to prayer is a neighbor of that mosque, and similarly for the houses. Another group said: Whoever resides with a man in a neighborhood or city is his neighbor. And neighborhood has degrees, some of which are closer than others; the closest is the spouse, as al-A'sha said:

O my neighbor, between me...

And beyond that is the neighborhood of those who are mixed together, and from it is the saying of the poet:

Ask the neighbor of Jarm, have you harvested for it a war that separates between the mixed neighborhoods.

Al-Tabari narrated from Maymun ibn Mehran that the neighbor of kin is meant to be the neighbor who is close. This is a mistake in language, because he combined—according to his interpretation—between the definite article and the genitive construction. It seems that the correct wording is: and the neighbor of kin.

Abu Haywah and Ibn Abi Abilah read: "and the neighbor of kin" with the word "neighbor" in the accusative case. Al-Makki narrated from Ibn Wahb that he said about some of the Companions regarding the neighboring one who is distant: it is the wife of the man. Al-Mufaddal narrated from Asim that he read: "and the neighbor who is distant" with the letter 'j' pronounced and the 'n' silent.

And "the distant one" in this verse means: the far one. And "janabah" means: distance. From it is the saying of the poet, Al-A'sha:

I came to Huraith, visiting from a distance, And Huraith was indifferent to my gift.

And from it is the saying of another, Alqamah ibn Abadah:

So do not deprive me of a gift from a distance, For I am a man among the tents, a stranger.

And it is from avoidance, which means that something is left aside. A Bedouin was asked about the neighboring one who is distant, and he said: it is the one who comes and settles where your eye falls upon him. Abu Ali said: "distant" is an adjective like a she-camel that is strong, and a gait that is smooth. And "the distant one" of purification is taken from "janb."

Ibn Abbas, Ibn Jubair, Qatadah, Mujahid, and Al-Dahhak said: "and the companion by your side" is: the companion in travel. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Abi Layla, and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i said: the companion by your side is: the wife. Ibn Zayd said: it is the man who approaches you and comes close to you for you to benefit him. Al-Tabari narrated: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was with a man from his companions while they were on two mounts. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, entered a thicket and cut two branches, one of which was crooked, and came out and gave his companion the straight one, while he kept the crooked one. The man said to him: 'You were more deserving of this, O Messenger of Allah.' He said to him: 'O so-and-so, every companion who accompanies another is responsible for his companionship, even if it is for an hour of the day.'"

And the commentators said: the traveler is the one who is traveling on the back of his way. He is called the son of the way because of his adherence to it, just as it is said: the son of water for the bird that is attached to the water. From it is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "The son of fornication will not enter Paradise," meaning: the one who is attached to him, who deserves to be attributed to him due to his persistence. Al-Tabari mentioned that Mujahid explained it as the one who passes by you in his travel, and that Qatadah and others explained it as the guest.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of this is one saying.

"And what your right hands possess" means the slaves and servants. The ownership is attributed to the right hand because it is usually the hand of force, dominance, and possession. These meanings were added to it—although they are not inherent to it—metaphorically, and the slaves are to be treated with kindness in many narrations that are lengthy to mention, and their well-known nature suffices for that.

The meaning of "loves" - in this verse - is: the effects of His blessings do not appear upon him in the Hereafter, nor the effects of His praise in this world. It is the love that is a characteristic of action, distancing it from one whose characteristic is arrogance and pride. It is said: a man "khal" (خَال) when he becomes arrogant and is impressed with himself. Al-Tabari recited:

If you are our master, you have mastered us, And if you are for the Khal, then go away.

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

The denial of love for one who has these characteristics is a form of warning. He specified these two characteristics here, as their implication is arrogance and vanity. This is what leads to neglecting the categories of people whom Allah has commanded to be treated with kindness. Each category has a type of kindness that is specific to it, and nothing prevents kindness towards them except arrogance or stinginess. Therefore, Allah denied His love from the arrogant and the stingy according to one of the interpretations, as we will mention now after this. Abu Rajaa al-Harawi said: You will not find one with a bad disposition except that you will find him proud and boastful, nor one who is disobedient except that you will find him tyrannical and miserable. Pride is counting virtues as a means of boasting.