Surah Ash Shu'ara Tafseer

وَاغْفِرْ لاِاَبِي

And forgive my father,

This is like the Ayah,

رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَالِدَىَّ

My Lord! Forgive me, and my parents. (71:28)

إِنَّهُ كَانَ مِنَ الضَّالِّينَ

verily, he is of the erring.

But this is something which Ibrahim, peace be upon him, later stopped doing, as Allah says:

وَمَا كَانَ اسْتِغْفَارُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لاَِبِيهِ إِلاَّ عَن مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَعَدَهَا إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ أَنَّهُ عَدُوٌّ لِلّهِ تَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لاوَّاهٌ حَلِيمٌ

And Ibrahim's invoking (of Allah) for his father's forgiveness was only because of a promise he ﴿Ibrahim﴾ had made to him (his father). But when it became clear to him ﴿Ibrahim﴾ that he (his father) is an enemy of Allah, he dissociated himself from him. Verily, Ibrahim was Awwah and forbearing. (9:114)

Allah stopped Ibrahim from asking for forgiveness for his father, as He says:

قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ

إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَاء مِنكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ

كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاء أَبَدًا حَتَّى تُوْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ

إِلاَّ قَوْلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لاَِبِيهِ لَاَسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ

وَمَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ

Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people:

"Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred forever until you believe in Allah alone," -- except the saying of Ibrahim to his father:"Verily, I will ask forgiveness for you, but I have no power to do anything for you before Allah." (60:4)

وَلَا تُخْزِنِي يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُونَ