Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:5

(And do not give the foolish ones your wealth): This is a return to explaining the remaining rulings related to the property of orphans, detailing what was summarized previously regarding the condition and manner of surrendering it. This follows the exposition of rulings related to persons—namely, marriage—and the clarification of certain rights concerning foreign women in terms of the person and, by way of digression, in terms of property. For the address, as the words of Ikrima indicate, is to the guardians. He and Ibn Jubayr explicitly stated that the "foolish ones" (al-sufaha) refers to orphans, and "your wealth" refers to their wealth. The reason it is attributed to the pronoun of the guardians being addressed is to equate its belonging to its owners with its belonging to them. It is as if their wealth is identical to their own wealth, due to the genetic and ancestral unity between them, which serves as a hyperbole to urge them to preserve it. A parallel to this is His saying, the Almighty: "And do not kill yourselves," for the meaning is: do not kill one another. However, he expressed their type as "yourselves" as a hyperbole in warning against killing, to the point that it is as if their killing others is the killing of themselves. This is supported by what His saying, the Exalted, indicates: "which Allah has made for you as a means of support [qiyam]," where He expressed its being the pivot of the livelihood of its owners as the pivot of the livelihood of the guardians. The first object of "made" is omitted, which is the pronoun referring to the wealth. "Qiyam" means that by which one stands and lives, and this expression adds to the hyperbole; it is the second object of "made." It has been suggested that the omitted [pronoun] alone is the object, and "qiyam" is a state (hal) derived from it. It is said: The wealth was attributed to the pronoun of the guardians because it is under their guardianship.

This has been objected to, stating that although it is correct in itself—because attribution for the slightest connection is established in their speech, as in the verse: “When the star of the foolish one appears at dawn, Suhayl, she scatters her spinning in the nearby lands”—it does not justify the wealth being described by what follows. Others said: It was attributed to their pronoun because "wealth" refers to the genus of things by which people live, and its relation to everyone is the same as its relation to another due to the generality of the relationship, whereas a specific individual’s wealth is assigned to one person and not another. Thus, it is permissible to attribute it truly to the guardians just as it is attributed to the owners. This is supported by its being described by something that is not specific to one wealth over another. This was objected to on the grounds that it fails to motivate the guardians toward the aforementioned preservation; for how could it not, when the generic unity of wealth is not exclusive to that between orphans' wealth and guardians' wealth, but is also realized between their wealth and the wealth of strangers? Therefore, there is no basis for considering it at all. It is narrated that Al-Sadiq, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked about this attribution and told: "How is their wealth our wealth?" He replied: "Because you are their heirs." This contains two possibilities: one, that it is a reference to what we mentioned first in explaining the attribution; and two, that this is from the metaphorical aspect of the first. If so, and after asserting the falsity of its attribution to Al-Sadiq, may Allah be pleased with him, the objection is that the first is not realized; rather, custom usually contradicts it, and interpreting it based on optimism (tafa'ul) is something that a sound taste finds detestable.

The scholar Al-Tayyibi stated that wealth was attributed to the orphans in His saying, the Almighty: "And give the orphans their wealth," and was not attributed to them here, even though the wealth in both instances belongs to them, to signal the reliance of the ruling on the description in both cases. For naming them "orphans" there is appropriate for cutting off greed, thus yielding a hyperbole in returning the wealth to them, which required saying: "their wealth." As for the description here, it is "foolishness," so it was appropriate that they not be specifically designated as owners lest they be compromised in the wealth; therefore, their wealth was not attributed to them, but was instead attributed to the guardians. It is not hidden that this is an explanation of the cause favoring the attribution of wealth to whom it was mentioned, and the justifying cause ought to be what was mentioned previously. Then, the orphans were described as "foolish" due to the lightness of their intellects and the instability of their opinions, because of their youth and lack of training. The root of safah (foolishness) is lightness and movement; it is said: "The wind tasaffahat the trees," meaning it swayed them. Dhu al-Rummah said: "They ran as the spears were swayed (tasaffahat) at their tops by the passing of the soft winds." And he also said: "On the back of a container, the bridle of which is foolish (safih)," meaning its rein is light. Because this description is one from which the squandering and loss of wealth arises—which impairs the condition of the orphan—it was appropriate to make it the pivot for this ruling. "The foolish" has been interpreted as the actual squanderers among the orphans. Many of the later scholars have held the interpretation of the verse as we have mentioned.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud, and others that "the foolish" refers to women and children, and the address is to everyone, whoever they may be. The meaning is to forbid giving one’s wealth to those among them who lack maturity. It is also said that it refers to women specifically. It is narrated from Mujahid and Ibn Umar. It is also narrated from Anas bin Malik that he said: A black woman, sharp in speech and witty, came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said: "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, O Messenger of Allah! Say something good about us for once, for it has reached me that you say only evil about us." He said: "What did I say about you?" She said: "You called us the foolish ones." He said: "Allah, the Almighty, called you the foolish ones in His Book." She said: "And you called us deficient." He said: "It is sufficient deficiency that you leave off prayer for five days every month." Then he said: "Is it not enough for one of you that when she is pregnant, she has the reward of one stationed in the way of Allah, the Almighty? And when she gives birth, she is like one smeared in her blood in the way of Allah, the Almighty? And when she breastfeeds, she has for every gulp the reward of freeing a slave from the children of Ishmael? And when she stays awake, she has for every night of wakefulness the reward of freeing a slave from the children of Ishmael?" And that is for the believing women who are humble, patient, and do not deny the favors of their husbands. The black woman said: "What a great merit, were it not for the conditions that follow it!"

It is said that "the foolish" is general for every foolish person, whether a child, a madman, or one under interdiction due to squandering. Similar to this is what is narrated from Abu Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "The foolish one is the drinker of alcohol and those who follow his path." He made the address also general to the guardians and all people. The attribution in "your wealth" conveys nothing but specification, which includes both ownership and the right of disposal. This is supported by what many have held: that it is the most consistent with the preceding and following verses. Whoever held otherwise considered the mention of this ruling as a digression, and the view that this impairs the eloquence of the Noble Order is a matter of contemplation. Nafi and Ibn Amir recited qiyaman without an alif. Abu al-Baqa states there are three aspects to this: first, that it is a verbal noun like al-hawl and al-awd. Analogy would require the waw to be preserved due to its position in the middle, just as it was preserved in al-awd and al-hawl, but they replaced it with a ya, analogizing it to qiyam and its weakness in the verb. Second, that it is the plural of qimah (value), like dimah and diyum, and the meaning is: wealth is like the value for souls, as their survival depends upon it. Abu Ali said: This is not correct because it has been recited in His saying, the Almighty: "a straight religion [dinan qiyaman], the creed of Abraham," and His saying, the Exalted: "the Sacred House, [qiyaman] for the people." The meaning of "value" is not correct in those instances.

Third, that the original was qiyaman, so the alif was deleted as it was deleted in khaym. Some researchers have inclined toward this, considering it similar to awdhan and iyadhan. Ibn Umar recited qiwaman with a kasra on the qaf and a waw and alif; there are two aspects to this: first, that it is the verbal noun of qawamtu qiwaman, like lawadhtu liwadhan, so it was preserved in the verbal noun as it was in the verb. Second, that it is a name for that by which a matter stands, not a verbal noun. It was also recited similarly but without an alif, as a verbal noun whose letter was preserved and came according to the origin, like al-awd. It was also recited with a fatha on the qaf, a waw, and an alif; there are two aspects to this: first, that it is a verbal noun, like al-salam, al-kalam, and al-dawam. Second, that it is a dialect for al-qiwam, which is in the sense of al-qamah (stature). It is said: "A girl with a beautiful qiwam and qawam." The meaning is: which Allah, the Almighty, has made the cause of the survival of your standing. In all the recitations of the verse, there is an indication of the praise of wealth. The predecessors used to say: "Wealth is the believer's weapon, and to leave behind wealth for which Allah will hold me accountable is better than to be in need of people." Abdullah bin Abbas said: "Dirhams and dinars are the seals of Allah on earth; they are not to be eaten or drunk, but wherever you intend with them, you fulfill your need." Qays bin Sa'd said: "O Allah, grant me praise and glory, for there is no praise without deeds, and no glory without wealth." Abu al-Zinad was asked: "Why do you love dirhams when they bring you closer to the world?" He replied: "Even if they bring me closer to it, they have shielded me from it." In the aphorisms of wisdom: "Whoever is wealthy is generous to his family." And also: "Poverty is a humiliation, wealth is a justification, misery is an abasement, and asking is a degradation." They used to say: "Trade and earn, for you are in a time where if one of you is in need, the first thing he consumes is his religion." Abu al-Atahiya said: "People honored you when you attained wealth; every wealthy person is glorious in the eyes. When the world leans toward a person, they lean toward him; people lean wherever it leans. There is no wealth but the wealth that adorns the youth, by night when he entertains or by day when he bestows." People have written extensively in praise of wealth and differed on the preference between wealth and poverty. Each has argued for their claim with evidence that this space does not accommodate. My teacher, Ala al-Din—may Allah, the Almighty, elevate his rank in the highest of high—said: "They said 'wealthy men,' and we see that you are the sign of wealth. I said: Wealth of the soul is the perfection of wealth, and poverty is all poverty, having lost perfection." (He also said): "They said 'men possessed wealth,' and I did not attain this attainment through perfection. I said: They possessed parts of it, while I possessed all of perfection."

(And provide for them therein, and clothe them): That is, make it [the wealth] a place for their provision and clothing by trading and profiting, so that their expenses come from the profits, not from the capital itself, lest spending consume it. This is what is necessitated by making the wealth itself the container for provision and clothing. Had it been said "from it," the spending would have been from the capital itself. Some have permitted that "in" (fi) be in the sense of "from" (min) which denotes partitive.

(And speak to them a word of kindness): That is, speech by which their souls are comforted, such as the guardian saying to the orphan: "Your wealth is with me, and I am a trustee over it; when you reach puberty and maturity, I will give you your wealth." Mujahid and Ibn Jurayj explained "a word of kindness" as a beautiful promise in kindness and maintaining ties. Ibn Abbas said: "It is like saying: 'If I profit on this journey of mine, I will do for you what you deserve, and if I gain spoils in my raid, I will set aside a share for you.'" Al-Zajjaj said: "Teach them, along with feeding and clothing them, the affairs of their religion regarding knowledge and deeds." Al-Qaffal said: "If he is a child, the guardian informs him that the wealth is his and that when his childhood passes, the wealth will be returned to him. And if he is foolish, he exhorts him and urges him toward prayer, and informs him that the consequence of squandering is poverty and need."

Ibn Jarir extracted from Ibn Zayd regarding the verse: If he is not your child and not someone you are obligated to spend on, say to him: "May Allah, the Almighty, grant us and you well-being; may Allah, the Almighty, bless you." It is not hidden that this is contrary to the apparent meaning, as it is apparent that the address in this phrase is not to the guardians. In sum, everything that the soul is comforted by due to its goodness—religiously or rationally—of speech or deed is "known" (ma'ruf), and everything the soul denies due to its ugliness—religiously or rationally—is "evil" (munkar). Many have said this, and it is not a reference to the two schools of thought regarding goodness and ugliness—whether it is religious or rational—as has been claimed; for there is no disagreement between us and those who affirm rational goodness and ugliness regarding the quality that is appropriate to an objective or repelling to it, and that some of it has a rational basis which the Sharia has reinforced. The disagreement is only regarding what is linked to praise and blame in the immediate sense, and reward and punishment in the afterlife: is it based solely on Sharia, or on reason, as has been researched in the fundamentals.