17-23 And thy Lord has decreed that you serve none but Him, and do good to parents. If either or both of them reach old age with thee, say not “Fie” to them, nor chide them, and speak to them a generous word.a
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّۢ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًۭا كَرِيمًۭا (۲۳)
17-23a: أُفٍّۢ – It is used for ear wax, dirt under the nails and other things that are considered insignificant. It is also used for a small quantity (LA), as in أُفٍّۢ لَّكُمْ وَلِمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ :Fie on you and on what you serve besides Allah! (21:67).
تَنْهَرْ – نہر is well known and its meaning is to strongly stop or severely scold, as in وَأَمَّا ٱلسَّآئِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ : And him who asks, chide not (93:10).
So, there is an element of derision in أُفٍّۢ and a measure of harshness in نہر.
What is the root of excellent morality? The last section discusses how one ultimately suffers loss by pursuing inferior purposes and low desires. This and the next section teach some principles of attaining high morals. The entire teachings of the Torah, based on the Ten Commandments, is encompassed in this and the next sections but in a more robust, detailed and perfected form. These moral teachings extend from verse twenty-three to verse thirty-seven which comprise a total of fifteen verses and Ibn Jarir cites a statement from Ibn Abbas: التورٰۃ کلھا فی خمس عشرۃ اٰیة من سورۃ بنی اسرائیل : The entire Torah is in the fifteen verses of Bani Israel. The moral teaching begins in this verse with pronouncing the Unity of Allah and that none is to be worshipped besides Allah, just as the first command in the Ten Commandments of the Torah begins with You shall have no other Gods besides Me. This is the true root of excellent morals, and surely a person who does not bow down to the One God cannot reach the pinnacle of excellent morals, as cannot one who pays homage to others and humiliates himself. There is no power superior to humans other than God. Accepting this reality raises humans to true humanity and establishes them on the path of developing excellent morals.
Dealings with parents: After commanding the worship of One God, instructions are given for positive interactions with other people. Attention is first drawn to the rights of the parents since they play the biggest role in the physical nurturing of an individual. Along with the directive to treat them benevolently and to do good to them, the children are instructed not to speak to them disparagingly and to not harshly rebuke them in any matter. Old age is addressed specially because a person’s constitution is weakened resulting in parents occasionally behaving unreasonably with their children. This is the time when children have a chance to act with good grace towards their parents and show with loving kindness. This is a phase of life which behaviorally is similar to childhood. The description here is general.
17-24 And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy, and say: My Lord, have mercy on them, as they brought me up (when I was) little.a
وَٱخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ ٱلذُّلِّ مِنَ ٱلرَّحْمَةِ وَقُل رَّبِّ ٱرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِى صَغِيرًۭا (۲۴)
17-24a: جَنَاحَ ٱلذُّلِّ – The literal meaning of جَنَاحَ is the wing of a bird, and by the جَنَاحَ of a person is meant his hand. ذُلّ is obedience because of another’s domination. According to Raghib, جَنَاحَ ٱلذُّلِّ is a metaphor because obedience and submission is of two types – one which degrades a person and the other which elevates a person, or increases his esteem. Because the obedience mentioned here is the one that elevates the status, hence the word جَنَاحَ has been brought in as a metaphor to indicate that the obedience one adopts should be such that it elevates one’s status before Allah, gaining Divine mercy through one’s exertion (R) or مِنَ ٱلرَّحْمَةِ indicates an abundance of mercy.
The subject of the last verse is completed here, and it is stated that kind behavior with the parents should be driven by love, such that the hearts of children should be overflowing with love of their parents just as the parent’s heart overflows with the love of their children. This love should lead children to pray for their parents as well. The term كَمَا رَبَّيَانِى implies that the merciful dealings with the parents should be like the merciful dealing with which the parents brought up their children, because that is the best and purest form of mercy. The second lesson imparted with this metaphor is that mercy should be mixed with nurturing, so the children should sacrifice their wealth and comfort to take attentive care of the parents. The Quran contains a deep knowledge of human nature. The children are urged to have mercy and love in their hearts for their parents but there are no reciprocal instructions for the parents, because this impulse to love and nurture their children is present in the nature of the parents and requires no external trigger to set them in motion. Similarly, the emphasis on treating parents with kindness in old age reflects the same deep knowledge of human tendencies.
The Hadith further amplify the subject and lay so much stress on kindness towards parents that paradise is stated to be under the feet of the mother, as it can be obtained by serving one’s mother. Another hadith states that Allah is pleased if the parents are pleased, and Allah is displeased if the parents are displeased and serving the parents has been regarded as jihad. In yet another hadith it is stated that one should do good to parents even after their death and this is explained as meaning to pray for them and to ask for their forgiveness, to fulfill their oaths and covenants, show kindness to relatives, and to honor their friends.
17-25 Your Lord knows best what is in your minds. If you are righteous, He is surely Forgiving to those who turn (to Him).
رَّبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا فِى نُفُوسِكُمْ ۚ إِن تَكُونُوا۟ صَـٰلِحِينَ فَإِنَّهُۥ كَانَ لِلْأَوَّٰبِينَ غَفُورًۭا (۲۵)
17-26 And give to the near of kin his due and (to) the needy and the wayfarer, and squander not wastefully.
وَءَاتِ ذَا ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ حَقَّهُۥ وَٱلْمِسْكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَلَا تُبَذِّرْ تَبْذِيرًا (۲۶)
17-26a: تَبْذِير – بَذۡر is the grain that is preserved for seed and Raghib states that تبذیر is to waste, or squander wealth because scattering seeds on the ground could seem like the farmer is throwing away his wealth (or because throwing the seed at an unsuitable place is wasting the seed).
After discussing the rights of the parents, there is a reminder about the rights of the kith and kin, the needy and the wayfarers. By using the word حَقَّهُ it is conveyed that the kith and kin, the needy and the wayfarer have a right in the wealth of an individual. By prohibiting the تَبْذِير of wealth, its wasteful spending, the lesson imparted is that when wealth is spent for the right purpose, it is like a seed that is sowed in the ground and bears fruit, but the seed that is thrown at an inappropriate place is wasted. The lesson that the Quran imparts is to safeguard wealth but not to love it. This is another example of the excellence of Quranic teachings. The message of this section is also found in a summary form in Section 19 of Surah Al-An‘am where the entire lesson of this section is given in two sentences: أَلَّا تُشْرِكُوا۟ بِهِۦ شَيْـًۭٔا ۖ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـٰنًۭا : associate naught with Him and do good to parents (6:151). Here more details are given about what is meant by doing good to parents and then the lesson is given to do good to kith and kin, the needy etc. Thus, it is conveyed that doing good to one’s parents gives one the ability to do good to others and the first good deed becomes the harbinger of other good deeds.
17-27 Surely the squanderers are the devil’s brethren. And the devil is ever ungrateful to his Lord.a
إِنَّ ٱلْمُبَذِّرِينَ كَانُوٓا۟ إِخْوَٰنَ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لِرَبِّهِۦ كَفُورًۭا (۲۷)
17-27a: إِخْوَٰنَ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينِ – اَخ is also used for a partner in religion, work, or love. See 2-220a. Here the word means that squanderers are the like of devils in their attributes or are their friends. The word كَفُورًۭ is used to convey that squandering a blessing or favor is to be ungrateful for that blessing or favor. Similarly, using it at the appropriate place and time shows gratitude for the blessing and not using it at the appropriate place and time reflects ingratitude. By classifying ungratefulness as an attribute of the devil, every ungrateful person is declared to have an attribute of the devil.
17-28 And if thou turn away from them to seek mercy from thy Lord, which thou hopest for, speak to them a gentle word.a
وَإِمَّا تُعْرِضَنَّ عَنْهُمُ ٱبْتِغَآءَ رَحْمَةٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّكَ تَرْجُوهَا فَقُل لَّهُمْ قَوْلًۭا مَّيْسُورًۭا (۲۸)
17-28a: مَيْسُور – It is derived from یسر for which see 12-65a. مَيْسُور means easy and it is a passive participle like یُسر الامر It is easy or it can be a verbal noun and it shows intensity.
اعراض or turning your face away means that if one does not have the financial ability to give to the needy or others, one should not dismiss them rudely. Speaking to them gently is also a charitable deed. ٱبْتِغَآءَ رَحْمَةٍۢ مِّن رَّبِّكَ is added to indicate that the intention of a person should be that if Allah grants him the means, he will give to others too.
17-29 And make not thy hand to be shackled to thy neck, nor stretch it forth to the utmost (limit) of its stretching forth, lest thou sit down blamed, stripped off.a
وَلَا تَجْعَلْ يَدَكَ مَغْلُولَةً إِلَىٰ عُنُقِكَ وَلَا تَبْسُطْهَا كُلَّ ٱلْبَسْطِ فَتَقْعُدَ مَلُومًۭا مَّحْسُورًا (۲۹)
17-29a: مَلُومًۭا – لَوۡم means blame, reproach, admonition, censure and لائم means one who reproaches, as in لَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَآئِمٍۢ : not fearing the censure of any censurer (5:54). مَلُوم is the one who is censured, and اَلام means he was deserving of being blamed, and it is derived from مُلیم as in فَٱلْتَقَمَهُ ٱلْحُوتُ وَهُوَ مُلِيمٌۭ : So the fish took him into its mouth while he was blamable (37:142).
Moderation in spending: The hand being tied or shackled to the neck means being miserly, for which see مغلولة الید (5-64a), and stretching it means being extravagant. After the advice to spend in charity and the mention of financial distress, this verse gives a general principle for spending, namely that one should neither be miserly in spending because a miser does not even give in the way of Allah, nor should a person be a spendthrift because a spendthrift does not have anything left to give in the way of Allah. One hadith states ما عال من اقتصد a person who practices moderation in spending does not get financially distressed. This also shows that saving some money is not against the teachings of Islam and is in fact the desired mode of managing one’s finances. The result of miserliness is disgrace, and extravagance leads to distress. However, giving one’s entire wealth in the way of Allah is not extravagance because it is not a misplaced expenditure but rather, it’s spending where there is the greatest necessity. The next verse shows that moderation in spending should not be abandoned whether in times of ease or scarcity.
17-30 Surely thy Lord makes plentiful the means of subsistence for whom He pleases, and He straitens. Surely He is ever Aware, Seer, of His servants.
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَبْسُطُ ٱلرِّزْقَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَقْدِرُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرًۢا بَصِيرًۭا (۳۰)
Bayan-ul-Quran 