Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:33

"And to everyone We have appointed heirs..."

"Of what is left..." An explanation for "everyone," meaning: to everything left by parents and close relatives.

"We have appointed heirs" Meaning: inheritors who succeed them and take possession of it. Or, for every group, We have appointed them as heirs to a portion of what the parents and close relatives have left.

"We have appointed heirs" This is an adjective for "everyone," with the pronoun referring back to "everyone" being omitted. The sentence is a subject and predicate, similar to saying: "For everyone whom God has created, there is a portion of God’s provision," meaning a share of God’s provision. Or, for every person, We have appointed heirs to what they leave behind. The "min" (of) is connected to "heirs" because they are in the sense of inheritors, and in "left" is the pronoun of "everyone."

He then explained the "heirs" by saying: "The parents and the close relatives." It is as if it were asked: "Who are they?" And it was answered: "The parents and the close relatives."

"And those with whom your oaths have made a covenant..." This is a subject that implies the meaning of a condition, so its predicate occurs with the fa (the particle of consequence), which is His saying: "So give them their share."

It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative case, as in your saying: "Zayd, strike him." It is also permissible for it to be conjoined to "the parents," and the pronoun in "give them" refers to the heirs.

The meaning of "those with whom your oaths have made a covenant" refers to the heirs of muwalat (patronage). A man would enter into a contract with another, saying: "My blood is your blood, my destruction is your destruction, my vendetta is your vendetta, my war is your war, my peace is your peace. You inherit from me and I inherit from you; you seek on my behalf and I seek on your behalf; you pay blood money for me and I pay it for you." Thus, the ally would receive a sixth of the other ally's inheritance. This was then abrogated.

It is narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he gave a sermon on the day of the Conquest (of Mecca) and said: "Whatever alliance existed in the Pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah), hold fast to it, for Islam only increases it in strength, but do not initiate any new alliances in Islam."

According to Abu Hanifa, if a man converts to Islam at the hands of another man, and they enter into a contract to pay blood money for one another and to inherit from one another, it is valid according to him, and he inherits by the right of muwalat—contrary to the view of Al-Shafi'i.

It is said that the "covenant" refers to adoption. The meaning of "your oaths have made a covenant" is: your hands have made a covenant with them, and you have shaken hands with them. It has been recited as ‘aqadat (with a shadda) and ‘aqadat (with a light consonant), meaning: their covenants have been bound by your oaths.