وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ حُسْنًۭا ۖ وَإِن جَٰهَدَاكَ لِتُشْرِكَ بِى مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِۦ عِلْمٌۭ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَآ ۚ إِلَىَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
And We have enjoined upon man goodness to 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.
Introduction
This is āyah 8 of Sūrat Al-Ankaboot (The Spider), the 85th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 20. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 85 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Ankaboot (29)
(We have enjoined on man kindness to parents�) [29:8]. The commentators of the Qur�an said: �This was revealed about Sa�d ibn Abi Waqqas. When the latter embraced Islam, his mother Hamnah said to him: �O Sa�d, I heard that you have renounced your old religion. By Allah, I will not take shelter under any roof to protect me from the sun and wind, nor will I eat or drink, until you disbelieve in Muhammad and revert to your old religion�. Sa�d was the dearest of her sons to her, but he refused to do as she wanted. For three days, his mother did not eat, drink or take shelter under the shade until it was feared that she may perish. At that point, Sa�d went to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and complained to him. Allah, exalted is He, revealed as a response this verse as well as the verse in Surah Luqman [31:14] and the verse in Surah al-Ahqaf [46:15]�. Abu Sa�id informed us> Abu Bakr al-Ghazi> Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamdan> Abu Ya�la> Abu Khaythamah> al-Hasan ibn Musa> Zuhayr> Simak ibn Harb> Mus�ab ibn Sa�d ibn Abi Waqqas> his father who said: �This verse was revealed about me. Umm Sa�d [his mother] swore that she will never speak to me, eat or drink, until I disbelieve in Islam. She did this for three days until she passed out from exhaustion. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (We have enjoined on man kindness to parents�)�. This was narrated by Muslim from Abu Khaythamah.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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