An-Nisa: 12
"And for you is half of what..."
"If they have a child"
Whether from you or from others. The woman is placed at half the share of the man by right of marriage, just as she is placed [at half] by right of lineage. The single [female] and the group are the same regarding the quarter and the eighth.
"And if a man"
Meaning the deceased.
"Is inherited"
Meaning, one from whom an inheritance is taken. It is an adjective describing "a man."
"Kalala"
The predicate of kana (was). That is: "And if a man is inherited from as a kalala." Or, yūrathu (is inherited) is the predicate of kana, and kalala is a state (ḥāl) of the pronoun in yūrathu. It has been recited as yūrathu and yūrithu (with takhfīf and tashdīd), based on the active voice, with kalala being a state or a direct object.
If you ask: What is kalala?
I say: It applies to three things:
- One who leaves behind neither child nor parent.
- One who is neither a child nor a parent of the deceased.
- Relatives from a side other than that of the child or parent.
From this is the saying: "He did not inherit glory by kalala," just as you say, "He did not fast out of inability," or "He did not refrain out of cowardice."
Kalala in its origin is a verbal noun meaning kalāl (exhaustion), which is the loss of strength due to fatigue. Al-A‘sha said: "I swore I would not mourn her out of exhaustion (kalāla)." It was then metaphorically applied to relatives other than children or parents because, in relation to their kinship, they are like a weak support (kalla). If it is made an adjective for the inherited or the inheritor, it means "possessor of kalala," just as you say, "So-and-so is from my relatives," meaning "from those possessing kinship." It is also possible that it is an adjective, like hajāja or faqāqa for a foolish person.
If you ask: If you make it a noun for kinship in the verse, what is its case?
I say: It is in the accusative as a maf‘ūl lahu (causative object); meaning, he is inherited from because of the kalala, or he inherits another because of it.
If you ask: If you make yūrathu passive from awratha, what is the interpretation?
I say: The man in that case is the inheritor, not the inherited.
If you ask: To whom does the pronoun in His saying "For each one of them" return in that case?
I say: To the man and his brother or sister. In the first case, it returns to both of them.
If you ask: If the pronoun returns to both, it implies their equality in obtaining the sixth without preference of the male over the female. Does this benefit remain in this interpretation?
I say: Yes, because when you say the sixth is for him or for one of the brother or sister by choice, you have made the male and female equal.
It is narrated from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was asked about kalala and said: "I speak regarding it by my own opinion; if it is correct, it is from Allah, and if it is wrong, it is from me and from Satan, and Allah is free of it."
Kalala is what is devoid of child and parent.
‘Ata’ and al-Dahhak said: Kalala is the one inherited from.
Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said: It is the inheritor.
They have reached a consensus that it refers to maternal siblings, and this is supported by the reading of Ubayy: "And he has a brother or sister from the mother," and the reading of Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas: "And he has a brother or sister from a mother."
It is said that the proof that kalala here refers specifically to maternal siblings is what is mentioned at the end of the Surah: that the two sisters get two-thirds, and the brothers get all the wealth. Thus, it is known here—since the single [maternal sibling] is given a sixth and the two are given a third, and they are not increased beyond a third—that He means the maternal siblings. Otherwise, kalala is general for everyone other than the child and parent among all other siblings (half-siblings, full siblings, etc.).
"Without causing harm"
A state (ḥāl). Meaning: the will is made while he is not causing harm to his heirs. This is by bequeathing more than a third, or bequeathing a third or less with the intention of harming his heirs and angering them, not for the sake of Allah.
Qatada said: Allah disliked harm in life and at death, and forbade it.
Al-Hasan said: Harm in religion is to acknowledge a debt that is not upon him; its meaning is [false] confession.
"A will from Allah"
A verbal noun for emphasis. Meaning: He wills this to you as a will, like His saying: "An ordinance from Allah" (4:11). It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative by ghayra muḍārr (without causing harm); meaning: "Do not cause harm—a will from Allah—which is the third or less, by increasing it beyond a third," or "a will from Allah regarding the children, that he does not leave them destitute by his extravagance in the will." This interpretation is supported by the reading of al-Hasan: "Without causing harm, a will from Allah" (idāfa).
"And Allah is Knowing"
Of who transgressed or acted justly in his will.
"Forbearing"
Toward the transgressor, not hastening to punish him. This is a threat.
If you ask: In "He wills" (yūṣī), there is the pronoun of the man if you make him the inherited. How do you handle it if you make him the inheritor?
I say: Just as you handled it in His saying: "For them is two-thirds of what he left" (4:11), because it is known that the one leaving and the one willing is the deceased.
If you ask: Where is the possessor of the state (dhū al-ḥāl) in the reading yūṣā bihā (passive)?
I say: Yūṣā is implied, and it is in the accusative from its agent. When it is said "It is willed" (yūṣā bihā), it is known that there is a testator, just as He said: "Men exalt Him therein morning and evening" (24:36) in the passive voice; it is known that there is an exalter, so yusabbiḥu is implied. Just as "men" is the agent indicated by yusabbiḥu, "without causing harm" is the state indicated by yūṣā bihā.
