Allah said in Surah ‘Abasa verses 34-37,
يَوْمَ يَفِرُّ ٱلْمَرْءُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ (٣٤) وَأُمِّهِۦ وَأَبِيهِ (٣٥) وَصَـٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَبَنِيهِ (٣٦) لِكُلِّ ٱمْرِئٍۢ مِّنْهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ شَأْنٌۭ يُغْنِيهِ (٣٧)
On the Day a man will flee from his brother (34) And his mother and his father (35) And his wife and his children (36) For every man, that Day, will be a matter adequate for him (37)
And He said in Surah al-Ma’arij, verses 11-14,
يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ ۚ يَوَدُّ ٱلْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِى مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍۭ بِبَنِيهِ (١١) وَصَـٰحِبَتِهِۦ وَأَخِيهِ (١٢) وَفَصِيلَتِهِ ٱلَّتِى تُـْٔوِيهِ (١٣) وَمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًۭا ثُمَّ يُنجِيهِ (١٤)
They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children. (11) And his wife and his brother (12) And his nearest kindred who shelter him. (13) And whoever is on earth entirely [so] then it could save him. (14)
Although both sets of verses discuss distancing oneself from loved ones on the Day of Judgment, they present different orders of relatives.
In Surah ‘Abasa, the scene portrays a person seeking solitude. Typically, when people isolate themselves, they begin with those they see less frequently.
In this case, the brother is mentioned first because siblings often interact less as adults. The mother comes before the father since she may not be able to defend or protect him, unlike the father.
Lastly, children are mentioned as they are usually the closest to a person.
Conversely, in Surah Ma’arij, the scene involves ransom. The wrongdoer expresses his willingness to sacrifice even the dearest of his possessions, his children, to save himself from torment, indicating the unimaginable severity of the punishment that day.
It is noteworthy that Allah does not mention parents in this situation. The Qur’an instructs us to treat them well and highlights their esteemed status, making it unthinkable to ransom them in exchange for our place in Hellfire, though fleeing from them is possible.
And Allah knows best.