to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents”—the favor of guidance and faith—“and to do righteous deeds that please You.” Ibn Abbas said: Allah answered his supplication: he freed nine believers who were being tortured for the sake of Allah, and whenever he sought to do any good, Allah aided him in it. He also supplicated, saying, “and make my offspring righteous for me.” Allah answered him, and none of his children failed to believe; all of them embraced Islam. Thus, he had the distinction of seeing both his parents and all his children embrace Islam. Abu Quhafah lived to see the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as did his son Abu Bakr, Abu Bakr’s son Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr, and Abd al-Rahman’s son Abu Atiq. All of them lived to see the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and this was not granted to any other of the Companions. (1)

His words: “Indeed, I have repented to You, and I am among those who submit.”

“Those are the ones from whom We shall accept the best of what they did”: that is, their righteous deeds which they performed in this world. All of them are good, and “the best” here means simply “good”; thus He rewards them for them. “And We shall overlook their misdeeds”: that is, We shall not punish them for them. Hamzah, al-Kisa’i, and Hafs recited the two verbs in the first-person plural active form, with ahsana in the accusative. The other reciters read them in the third-person passive form, with ahsanu in the nominative. “Among the people of Paradise”: that is, together with the people of Paradise. “A true promise which they were promised”: this is His saying, Exalted is He: “Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow” (al-Tawbah 9:72).

“As for the one who says to his parents,” when they call him to believe in Allah and affirm the Resurrection, “‘Fie upon you both!’” This is an expression of disgust. “‘Do you promise me that I shall be brought forth,’” alive from my grave, “‘when generations have passed before me,’” and not a single one of them has been resurrected? “While they appeal to Allah for help”: they cry out and seek Allah’s help against him, saying to him, “‘Woe to you! Believe: indeed, Allah’s promise is true.’ Yet he says, ‘This is nothing but tales of the former peoples.’” That is, this to which you are calling me is nothing but tales of the former peoples. Ibn Abbas, al-Suddi, and Mujahid said: It was revealed concerning Abdullah. (2)