Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:8
And when [other] relatives and orphans and the needy are present at the [time of] division, then provide for them [something] out of the estate and speak to them words of appropriate kindness.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His — exalted is He — saying: وَإِذَا حَضَرَ الْقِسْمَةَ أُولُو الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينُ فَارْزُقُوهُمْ مِنْهُ وَقُولُوا لَهُمْ قَوْلا مَعْرُوفًا (8) (And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it and speak to them a kind word) (8).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the validity of this verse: is it in force (muḥkam) or abrogated (mansūkh)?
Some of them said: it is in force.
The mention of who said that:
8658 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Shaybānī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: It is in force (muḥkama) and not abrogated — that is, His saying: "And when the near relatives are present at the division" — the verse.
8659 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Al-Ashjaʿī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Shaybānī, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, the same.(6)
8660 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī, who both said: It is in force.(7)
8661 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: It is obligatory, to the extent that the heirs give it willingly.
8662 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Al-Ashjaʿī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division," who said: It is obligatory upon the heirs, to the extent that they give it willingly.
8663 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Al-Ashjaʿī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm and al-Shaʿbī, who both said: It is in force, not abrogated.
8664 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān = and al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us = on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: It is obligatory upon the heirs, to the extent that they give it willingly.
8665 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū Bishr informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: that he was asked about His saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it and speak to them a kind word." Saʿīd said: This verse is neglected by the people. He said: There are two guardians, one who inherits and one who does not inherit. The one who inherits is the one who was commanded to provide for them — he said: he gives to them. And the one who does not inherit is the one who was commanded to speak to them a kind word. And it is in force and not abrogated.
8666 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Mughīra informed us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, in similar terms = and he said: It is in force and not abrogated.
8667 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Muṭarrif, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, who said: It is established, but the people have become miserly and stingy.
8668 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Manṣūr and al-Ḥasan informed us, who both said: It is in force and not abrogated.
8669 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwwām related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: It is in effect; one acts according to it.
8670 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it" — to the extent that the souls give it willingly, as an obligatory right.
8671 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and al-Zuhrī, who both said concerning His saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it," they said: It is in force.
8672 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Manṣūr informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿmar, who said: There are three Medinan verses in force which the people have abandoned: this verse; the verse about asking permission: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِيَسْتَأْذِنْكُمُ الَّذِينَ مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ [Sūrat al-Nūr: 58] (O you who believe, let those whom your right hands possess ask permission of you); and this verse: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى [Sūrat al-Ḥujurāt: 13] (O mankind, We have created you from a male and a female).
8673 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: Al-Ḥasan used to say: It is established.
* * *
And others said: it is abrogated.
The mention of who said that:
8674 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār and Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, they said: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd, that he said concerning this verse: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division," he said: This verse was a division before the fixed shares of inheritance; when Allah sent down the fixed shares for those entitled to them, the bequest (waṣiyya) was appointed for the relatives who grieve but do not inherit.
8675 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Qurra ibn Khālid related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: I asked Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab about this verse: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division," he said: It is abrogated.
8676 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, who said: This was before the obligatory shares (al-farāʾiḍ) and the division of inheritance; when the obligatory shares and the inheritances came, it was abrogated.
8677 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Mālik, who said: The verse of inheritance abrogated it.
8678 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Al-Ashjaʿī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Mālik, the same.
8679 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "And when the near relatives and the orphans are present at the division" — the verse, up to His saying: "a kind word" — and that was before the obligatory shares were sent down. Then Allah — blessed and exalted is He — sent down the obligatory shares and gave everyone who had a right his right, and the alms (ṣadaqa) was appointed in what the deceased designated.
8680 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Juwaybir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: The fixed shares abrogated it.
* * *
And others said: it is in force and not abrogated, but its meaning is that by "And when they are present at the division" is meant: the division which the deceased makes of his wealth by means of his bequest, in favor of whom he wished to bequeath to. They said: and he was commanded to make his bequest in his wealth in favor of those whom Allah — exalted is He — mentioned in this verse.
The mention of who said that:
8681 - Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā al-Umawī related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Ibn Abī Mulayka, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad: that ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān divided the inheritance of his father, while ʿĀʾisha was still alive, and he left no one in the house without giving to him, and he recited this verse: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it." Al-Qāsim said: I mentioned that to Ibn ʿAbbās, whereupon he said: He did not act correctly; this concerns only the bequest — he means the deceased, that he leave a bequest to his relatives.(8)
8682 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Ibn Jurayj informed us, saying: Ibn Abī Mulayka informed me: that al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad informed him, that ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr divided — and he mentioned something similar.
8683 - ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Ṣaffār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wārith ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, concerning His saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division," he said: He was commanded to leave a bequest of a third of his wealth in favor of his relatives.(9)
8684 - Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, who said: That concerns only the bequest of his third.
8685 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it," he said: It is the bequest of the people.
8686 - Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division," he said: The division is the bequest; when a man left a bequest, they would say: "So-and-so divides his wealth." So He said: "then provide for them out of it." He says: Leave to them by bequest. He says to the one who leaves the bequest: "and speak to them a kind word" — if you leave them no bequest, then speak well to them.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the most correct of these statements in terms of correctness is the statement of the one who said: this verse is in force, not abrogated, and by it is meant only the bequest in favor of the near relatives of the testator = and by the orphans and the needy is meant: that a kind word be spoken to them.
And we have only said that this is more correct than anything else because of what we have set forth in more than one place in this book of ours and elsewhere,(10) namely that concerning none of the rulings of Allah — blessed and exalted is He — which He has fixed in His Book or clarified through the words of His Messenger ﷺ may it be said that it is an abrogator (nāsikh) of another ruling, or abrogated (mansūkh) by another ruling,(11) unless the two rulings — one of which is declared valid as the abrogator and the other as the abrogated — mutually exclude one another, so that it is in no way permissible for both rulings to be in force together at one and the same time — even though it may be possible to attribute it to something other than abrogation — or unless there is a proof which must necessarily be accepted that the one is the abrogator and the other the abrogated.
And since that is so, in light of what we have demonstrated in more than one place = and since His — exalted be His mention — saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it," bears within it the possibility that by it is meant: and when the relatives, the orphans, and the needy of one who divides his wealth by means of a bequest are present at the division of his wealth, then provide for them out of it — meaning: so leave a bequest to your relatives who do not inherit from you out of it, and speak to the orphans and the needy a kind word, as He said in another place: كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ إِنْ تَرَكَ خَيْرًا الْوَصِيَّةُ لِلْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالأَقْرَبِينَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ حَقًّا عَلَى الْمُتَّقِينَ [Sūrat al-Baqara: 180] (Prescribed for you, when death approaches one of you, if he leaves good, is the bequest for the parents and the near relatives in a fitting manner — a duty upon the God-fearing), and it is not abrogated by the verse of inheritance =(12) — no one could attribute it to being abrogated by the verse of inheritance, since there is no proof that it is abrogated by it, from Book or established Sunna, while it bears within it the interpretation which we have set forth.
And since that is so, the interpretation of His saying: "And when they are present at the division" — the division of the one who leaves his wealth by bequest — his relatives = "and the orphans and the needy, then provide for them out of it" — He says: so divide for them out of it by bequest, that is: so leave a bequest to the near relatives out of your wealth = "and speak to them" — He means the others, namely the orphans and the needy = "a kind word" — He means: that good be prayed for on their behalf,(13) as Ibn ʿAbbās and all the others whose statement we mentioned earlier said.
* * *
As for those who said: "The verse is abrogated by the verse of the shares of inheritance," and those who said: "It is in force, and those commanded by it are the heirs of the deceased" = they interpreted His saying "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it" as His saying: so give to them out of it = "and speak to them a kind word." We have already mentioned some who said that, and we shall mention the rest who said that whom we have not yet mentioned:
8687 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, His saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division" — Allah, praised be His praise, commanded the believers at the division of their inheritances to make a gift to their relatives and orphans out of the bequest, if he had left a bequest; and if there was no bequest, then it was due to them out of their inheritances.
8688 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "And when the near relatives are present at the division" — the verse, he means: at the division of the inheritance.
8689 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa: that his father gave to him out of the inheritance of al-Muṣʿab, when he divided his wealth.
8690 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: ʿAwf informed us, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, who said: They used to give them a small gift (yarḍakhūna) at the division.(14)
8691 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Maṭar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, on the authority of Ḥiṭṭān: that Abū Mūsā commanded that they be given when present at the division of the inheritance: the near relatives, the orphans, the needy, and the neighbors among the poor.
8692 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd, Ibn Abī ʿAdī, and Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Yūnus ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ḥiṭṭān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Raqāshī, who said: Abū Mūsā divided in accordance with this verse: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division."
8693 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad and Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Yūnus ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ḥiṭṭān, on the authority of Abū Mūsā, concerning this verse: "And when they are present at the division" — the verse, he said: Abū Mūsā judged according to it.
8694 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Badr, concerning the inheritance when it is divided, he said: They used to give out of it: the chest (al-tābūt) and the thing one was ashamed to divide.(15)
8695 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who both used to say: That is at the division of the inheritance.
8696 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya and al-Ḥasan, who both said: They give a small gift and speak a kind word, concerning this verse: "And when they are present at the division."
* * *
Then those who said: "This verse is in force, and the division in favor of the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy is obligatory upon the heirs; and if one of the heirs is a minor and the guardian of his wealth divides the inheritance for him" — differed.
Some of them said: The guardian of his wealth may not divide or give as bequest anything out of his wealth, for he owns nothing of the wealth, but he speaks to them a kind word. They said: and the one whom Allah commanded to speak to them a kind word is the guardian of the orphan's wealth when he divides the orphan's wealth between him and the co-heirs of the orphan — unless the guardian of his wealth is one of the heirs, in which case he gives them out of his own share, and gives to them the one whose disposal over his wealth is permitted out of his share. They said: but as for the wealth of the minor — the one over whose wealth guardianship is exercised — it is not permitted to the guardian of his wealth to give them anything out of it.
The mention of who said that:
8697 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd, who said: I asked Saʿīd ibn Jubayr about this verse: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it," he said: If the deceased left them something by bequest, their bequest is carried out for them; and if the heirs are adults, they give them a small gift; and if they are minors, their guardian says: "I do not own this wealth, and it is not mine, it belongs only to the minors." That, then, is His saying: "and speak to them a kind word."
8698 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning this verse: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it and speak to them a kind word," he said: There are two guardians, a guardian who inherits and a guardian who does not inherit. As for the one who inherits, he is given; and as for the one who does not inherit, speak to him a kind word.
8699 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to me, on the authority of al-Ḥasan and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who both used to say: That is at the division of the inheritance. If the inheritance belongs to one who has come of age, then it is incumbent upon him to clothe out of it and to feed the poor and needy. And if the inheritance belongs to minor orphans, then the guardian says: "They are minor orphans," and speaks to them a kind word.(16)
8700 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Saʿd, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: If they are adults, they give a small gift; and if they are minors, they offer them their excuses.(17)
8701 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Sulaymān al-Shaybānī, on the authority of ʿIkrima: "And when the near relatives are present at the division," he said: Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: When he is guardian over something of it, he gives the relatives of the deceased a small gift. And if he does not do that, he offers them his excuses and speaks to them a kind word.
8702 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it and speak to them a kind word" — this has three cases. The one case: that he leaves them a bequest,(18) whereupon they are present and receive their bequest. The second: that they are present and they divide, when they are adult men, then it is incumbent upon them to give them. The third: that the heirs are minors, then their guardian stands up when he divides among them, and says to those present: "Your right is a right, and your kinship is kinship; and if I had a share in the inheritance, I would give you, but they are minors, and when they come of age, they will acknowledge your right." This, then, is the kind word.(19)
8703 - Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Saʿīd, that he said: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it and speak to them a kind word," he said: When the heir is present at the division, and there is a vessel and a thing that cannot be divided, let him give them a small gift. And if the inheritance belongs to the orphans, then let him speak to them a kind word.
* * *
And others among them said: That is obligatory in the wealth of the minors and the adults, in favor of the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy; if the heirs are adults, they undertake at the division the giving of it to them, and if they are minors, the guardian of their wealth undertakes the giving of it out of their wealth.
The mention of who said that:
8704 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, concerning His saying: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it" — he related on the authority of Muḥammad, on the authority of ʿAbīda: that the latter undertook the execution of a bequest, and he commanded that a sheep be slaughtered and he made a meal, on account of this verse, and he said: Were it not for this verse, this would be from my own wealth = he said: and al-Ḥasan said: It is not abrogated; they used to be present and were given the thing and the worn-out garment = Yūnus said: Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn undertook the execution of a bequest — or he said: of orphans — and he commanded that a sheep be slaughtered, and he made a meal as ʿAbīda did.
8705 - Mujāhid ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Hishām ibn Ḥassān informed us, on the authority of Muḥammad: that ʿAbīda divided the inheritance of orphans, and he commanded that a sheep be bought out of their wealth, and that a meal be prepared, and he said: Were it not for this verse, I would rather that it came from my own wealth. Then he recited this verse: "And when the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy are present at the division, then provide for them out of it" — the verse.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: It is thus as if those who held the statement which we mentioned from Ibn ʿAbbās and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, and the one who said "a small gift is given at the division of the inheritance to the near relatives, the orphans, and the needy," interpreted His saying "then provide for them out of it" as: so give to them out of it = and it is as if those who held the opinion of ʿAbīda and Ibn Sīrīn interpreted His saying "then provide for them out of it" as: so feed them out of it.
* * *
And they differed concerning the interpretation of His saying: "and speak to them a kind word."
Some of them said: It is a command from Allah — exalted be His mention — to the guardians of the orphans, that they offer their excuses to their relatives, the orphans, and the needy — when these are present at their division of the wealth of the one over whose wealth they exercise guardianship, between them and their co-heirs in it — in the manner of offering excuses which we have already mentioned above, such as:
8706 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Abū Bishr related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: "and speak to them a kind word," he said: It is the one who does not inherit, he was commanded to speak to them a kind word. He said: he says: "This wealth belongs to absent people, or to minor orphans, and you have a right in it, but we do not possess the authority to give you anything of it." He said: this, then, is the kind word.
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And others said: Rather, the one who was commanded with the kind word which He — praised be His praise — commanded to speak is the man who leaves a bequest in his wealth = and "the kind word" is the prayer for them for provision and wealth and similar good words. And we have likewise mentioned its proponents above.(20)
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Footnotes:
(6) The narration 8659 — this narration is missing from the printed edition and was confused with the one following it.
(7) The narration 8660 — in the printed edition it read: "Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: al-Ashjaʿī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān…", in which "al-Ashjaʿī" from the preceding isnād, which he had omitted, was placed instead of "Ibn Yamān"; I have restored it to the correct form according to the manuscript.
(8) The narration 8681 — "Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Umawī," his biography has passed in 2225 and elsewhere. In the printed edition it read "Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Umawī," reversed, and the correct form is according to the manuscript. And "ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān" is "ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Bakr al-Ṣiddīq," and he is the son of the sister of Umm Salama, the wife of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
(9) The narration 8683 — "ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Ṣaffār," his biography has passed under number 2154, but he is called "al-Qazzāz" in al-Tahdhīb and by Ibn Abī Ḥātim. This is thus a difference that must be recorded.
(10) See the foregoing, 2: 471, 472, 482, 534, 535 / 3: 385, 563 / 4: 582 / 5: 414 / 6: 54, 118.
(11) In the printed edition and the manuscript it reads "or abrogated for a ruling" (li-ḥukm) with the lām, and the correct form is with the bāʾ.
(12) The connection is: "And since that is so, in light of what we have demonstrated in more than one place… no one could…" and what is between is a coordination, an insertion, and a clarification.
(13) See the explanation of "a kind word" in the foregoing, 7: 572, 573, note 2 = then 582, note 1, and the references there.
(14) "Raḍakha lahu min mālihi raḍīkhatan": he gave him a moderate or small gift.
(15) His saying "and the chest" (al-tābūt) here is unclear to me, and what he meant by it.
(16) The narration 8699 — in the printed edition it reads "Ibn Dāwūd related to us," and that is an error to which the manuscript led him, for "ḥaddathanā" was first written, then "thanā" was struck out and "thanī" written in its place, so that the reader took it for "Ibn" and wrote what he wrote. And "Dāwūd" is "Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind," whose biography has passed in the foregoing: 1608, and elsewhere.
(17) The narration 8700 — in the printed edition it reads "on the authority of Abū Saʿīd, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr," and I have adopted what is in the manuscript. And "Abū Saʿd" is "Abū Saʿd al-Arḥabī al-Kūfī," reciter of the Azd, and it is also said "Abū Saʿīd," from whom Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suddī the Elder has narrated; he has a biography in al-Tahdhīb.
(18) In the printed edition it reads: "the first: that he leaves them a bequest…," as if he thought that the wording of the narration was erroneous and changed it to agree with his later statement "and as for the second"; but what is in the manuscript is entirely correct, and there is no reason to change it.
(19) The narration 8702 — in the manuscript and the printed edition it reads "Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us," and that is an error of which the correct form is: "Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us." His biography has passed under number 7120. And his isnād has passed correctly hundreds of times; the nearest of them is number 8654.
(20) In the printed edition, after his saying "in the foregoing" there is added: "in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat it," as if he was led by the fact that Abū Jaʿfar frequently repeats such sentences; but it is not in the manuscript, and the discourse here can do without it.
