Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in religion and your clients.”

[Al-Ahzab: 5] If you do not know the fathers of whom? The fathers of these adopted sons. This means they are not their sons, even in the case where the father of this man is not known. It is not permissible to attribute him to anyone other than his father, but he is our brother in religion and our client if he entered into our ownership and we then freed him, for example. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the story of the dispute between Ali, Ja'far, and Zayd ibn Harithah, he said to Zayd: He is my brother in religion and not my son. He is also my client if I have freed him. Even if I do not know his father, he is not attributed to me. For this reason, you find the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) who write the names of men; when they attribute one of the clients to the one who freed him, they say, for example, “al-Qurashi, their client” or “al-Tamimi, their client.” Because if he said only “al-Qurashi,” what would the one who thinks assume? That he is truly a Qurashi. So when he says “their client,” it means he is attributed to them because he is their client. And the client of a people is one of them. So much so that the scholars said regarding charity that it is forbidden for the clients of Banu Hashim, because the client of a people is one of them, but they are not attributed to them by true lineage; rather, it must be qualified.
The student: ...?

The Shaykh : How?
The student: Your paternal uncles.

The Shaykh : It has no basis.
The student: ... Zayd ibn Harithah’s father came to the Prophet from ... so he said ... so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Zayd the choice ...?

The Shaykh : Why did his father and his paternal uncle come?
The student: So his father knew him and his father sought him.
The Shaykh : The reason for his adoption. This was in the early days of Islam, then it was abrogated. ... But only.