Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:180

(Prescribed for you when death approaches one of you) is an exposition of another of the rulings mentioned. It is separated from the preceding passage to indicate that it is an independent ruling, just as the subsequent ones are separated. It was not prefaced with "O you who have believed" because of the proximity of the previous exhortation, and its thematic connection to the preceding verse in that both relate to the deceased. Alternatively, it is because it was not considered burdensome, so it was not prefaced as the burdensome command was—to stimulate the resolve to perform it.

The meaning of "when death approaches" is the presence of its causes and the manifestation of its signs, such as illnesses and alarming diseases, or the actual approach and nearness of death itself. The direct object (death) is brought forward to convey the complete mastery the subject (death) has over the soul at the time of its arrival upon it.

(If he leaves wealth), i.e., property, as stated by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, and Mujahid. Some qualified it as being "a large amount," as in common usage, property is not termed "wealth" (khayr) unless it is abundant, just as one is not said to be "a man of wealth" unless he possesses a great deal of it. This is supported by what Al-Bayhaqi and a group narrated from Urwah: Ali, may Allah honor his face, entered upon a client of his who was dying and possessed seven hundred or six hundred dirhams. Ali said, "Should I not make a bequest?" He replied, "No, for Allah the Exalted said: 'If he leaves wealth,' and you do not possess a large amount of wealth; leave your wealth to your heirs."

Likewise, what Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that a man said to her, "I wish to make a bequest." She said, "How much wealth do you have?" He said, "Three thousand." She said, "How many dependents do you have?" He said, "Four." She said, "Allah the Exalted said: 'If he leaves wealth,' and this is a small amount, so leave it for your dependents, for that is better."

The apparent implication is that "abundance" is not determined by a specific measure; rather, it varies according to the person's condition. A man may be described as wealthy with a certain amount of money, while another is not, due to the number of his dependents. From Ibn Abbas, there is a specific estimation; Abd ibn Humayd narrated from him: "Whoever does not leave sixty dinars has not left 'wealth'." The school of Al-Zuhri holds that the "bequest" is legislated whether the amount is small or large, with "wealth" (khayr) being property in an absolute sense. This is one of its applications, and perhaps his preference indicates that what is bequeathed should be lawful and good (halal tayyib), not foul (khabith), for the foul must be returned to its rightful owners, and one incurs sin by including it in a "bequest."

(The bequest to the parents and the nearest kin) is in the nominative case (marfu') because it is the deputy subject of "prescribed." In the case of "the bequest" (al-wasiyyah), when the visible subject is not genuinely feminine and is separated [from the verb], the author chose to omit the feminine marker, though the scholar Ar-Radi preferred the manifestation of the genuine feminine over the non-genuine. For this reason, the masculine form of the verb was chosen here.

"Bequest" (wasiyyah) is a noun derived from awsa, yusi. In the Qamus: "He awsahu and wassahu (bequeathed to him) means he entrusted him." The verbal noun is wisayah. "The bequest" (al-wasiyyah) also refers to the item being bequeathed. The prepositional phrase relates to it, so it must be interpreted as functioning like a verb according to the majority, or by interpreting the verbal noun itself as acting, based on Ar-Radi’s verification that the operation of a verbal noun does not depend on its interpretation (as a verb), which is the weightier view. For this reason, he mentioned the weightier view in its place.

It is also permitted that "upon you" (alaykum) is the deputy subject, and "the bequest" (al-wasiyyah) is the predicate of an implied subject, as if it were said: "What is prescribed?" and the answer was: "It is the bequest." The answer to the conditional clause is omitted, indicated by "prescribed for you." It is also said: it is a subject whose predicate is "for the parents," and the sentence is the answer to the conditional clause with the omission of the fa, because when a nominal sentence is the consequence of a condition, the fa is required. The conditional sentence is then in the nominative due to "prescribed" or "upon you" alone, and the sentence is an incipience. This was rejected, as the omission of the fa is invalid and one should not dare to do it except in the necessity of poetry, as Al-Khalil stated.

The operative factor for "when" (idha) is the meaning of "prescribed," and the adverbial phrase is a restriction on the obligation in terms of occurrence and realization. The meaning is: the address of Allah the Exalted is directed "upon you," and the requirement of its prescription is "when [death] approaches." It was shifted to what you see to organize this meaning, namely, that it was prescribed in pre-eternity.

It is also permissible that the operative factor is "the bequest," for even though it is a noun, it is interpreted as a verbal noun or as an with the verb. The adverbial phrase is satisfied by the "scent of the verb," as the noun has a status that others do not, for it is placed in the position of the act itself because of its occurrence within it and its inseparability from it. Hence, there is a latitude in adverbial phrases that is not found elsewhere. Not everything interpreted as something else takes the same ruling as that which it is interpreted as.

[Arguments regarding the grammatical structure and the obligation of the bequest follow, noting that the mention of "one of you" serves to specify that this is an individual obligation, not a collective one.]

Ultimately, this ruling was in the early period of Islam and was then abrogated by the Verse of Inheritance, as stated by Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, Qatadah, Shuraih, Mujahid, and others. Ahmad, Abd ibn Humayd, At-Tirmidhi (who graded it authentic), An-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah narrated from Amr ibn Kharijah, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) addressed them while on his camel, saying: "Allah has allotted for every person his share of the inheritance, so there is no bequest for an heir."

[The text further discusses the nature of this abrogation, the views of the scholars, and the distinction between the original command for a bequest and the subsequent detailed legislation of shares by Allah in the Verse of Inheritance.]

(As a duty on the God-fearing): This is a verbal noun acting as an emphatic for the action indicated by "prescribed." Its operative factor is either "prescribed" or "a duty" (haqq) which is implied—that is, "this is a duty as a binding duty"—following the pattern of "I sat a sitting." It is also possible that it emphasizes the content of the sentence "prescribed for you."

"Upon the God-fearing" is an adjective for it, or it relates to the implied verb, according to the preferred view. It is also permissible for it to relate to the verbal noun, since the absolute object acts in place of the verb. "The God-fearing" (Al-Muttaqin) refers to the believers. The manifest noun was used in place of the pronoun to indicate that maintaining the bequest and fulfilling it is among the hallmarks of the God-fearing who fear Allah the Exalted.