وَوَصَّيْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ بِوَٰلِدَيْهِ إِحْسَٰنًا ۖ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُۥ كُرْهًۭا وَوَضَعَتْهُ كُرْهًۭا ۖ وَحَمْلُهُۥ وَفِصَٰلُهُۥ ثَلَٰثُونَ شَهْرًا ۚ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُۥ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةًۭ قَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَٰلِحًۭا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِى فِى ذُرِّيَّتِىٓ ۖ إِنِّى تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ
And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims."
Introduction
This is āyah 15 of Sūrat Al-Ahqaf (The Wind-Curved Sandhills), the 66th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 26. 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
- 66 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Ahqaf (46)
(�till, when he attaineth full strength and reacheth forty years�) [46:15]. 'Ata' reported that Ibn 'Abbas said: �This verse was revealed about Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be well pleased with him. He had travelled with the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace - when he was eighteen years old and the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was twenty - to Syria for trade. When they reached a place where there was a lotus tree, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sat under the shade of this tree while Abu Bakr went to a monk nearby to ask him about religion. The monk then asked Abu Bakr: 'Who is that man under the shade of the lotus?' Abu Bakr said: 'He is Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib'. The monk said: 'By Allah, he is a Prophet. No one sat under the shade of this tree after Jesus, son of Mary, except Muhammad the Prophet of Allah'. At that moment, certainty and faith entered Abu Bakr's heart. He accompanied the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, everywhere whether in travel or in Mecca. When The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was sent as a Prophet at the age of forty, Abu Bakr who was then thirty-eight embraced Islam and believed in the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. When Abu Bakr reached forty, he prayed (My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for the favour wherewith Thou hast favoured me�)�.
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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