The Benefits of the Verse: “And give the orphans their property, and do not exchange the bad for the good, and do not consume their property along with your own, for it is indeed a great sin.”

This verse contains several benefits, among which is the manifestation of the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He has enjoined care for these orphans, for the orphan is a place of mercy; his heart is broken, he has no father, and perhaps he has no mother either. Therefore, Allah has enjoined caring for him and his wealth. Another benefit is the obligation to preserve the wealth of orphans. What is the basis for this? It is because giving them their wealth necessitates its preservation, for if one were negligent and careless and the wealth was lost, he would not have given them their wealth. Among its benefits is that the orphan owns property, and his ownership is complete, as indicated by His saying: . Branching from this benefit is that zakah is obligatory upon him, because zakah follows ownership. Allah the Exalted said: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal when he sent him to Yemen: So, once ownership is established, the obligation of zakah is established. This is a refutation of the statement of some scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) that zakah is not obligatory on the wealth of orphans because the orphan is a minor and not accountable. We say in response to this: Zakah is not a pure obligation of accountability (taklif), but rather it is an obligation for the right of others, namely the poor. It is similar to a debt. Therefore, it is obligatory on the wealth of orphans and the insane, even though they are not accountable. Among its benefits is that maintenance (nafaqah) is obligatory from the orphan's wealth for those upon whom his maintenance is obligatory. From where is it taken? From the establishment of his financial capacity. Maintenance is obligatory on every wealthy person for every poor person. So, if the conditions of maintenance are met and only puberty remains, we say that puberty is not a condition, because Allah has established financial capacity for orphans, and once financial capacity is established, what follows for those with wealth follows for them. Among its benefits is the obligation to fulfill trusts, as indicated by His saying: . Among its benefits is the application of the name "the bad" to the inferior, is that correct? According to one of the two interpretations of the verse. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has explicitly stated that the inferior is called "bad" (khabith) when He said: So He called it "bad," meaning He called the inferior "bad." And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called onions and the like "bad" and said that it is lawful (halal), and he said it is lawful even though the description of "bad" is applied to it. Among its benefits is the prohibition of adding the orphan's wealth to the guardian's wealth if the intention is to destroy it. From where do we derive this? From His saying: However, if he adds his wealth to his own not for the purpose of consuming and destroying it, but for the purpose of preservation and trade, then there is no harm in that; rather, it may become obligatory for a person. So, if he adds the orphan's wealth to his own for the purpose of preservation or trade, it is an act of kindness toward him and does not fall under the prohibition, because Allah said: He did not say: "Do not mix them." Therefore, Allah said in Surat al-Baqarah: But in the case of adding wealth to wealth for the purpose of preservation or earning, a person must be cautious in writing down the orphan's wealth that he has mixed with his own, and the complete caution is to bear witness to it. For example, he would say: "I have added such and such from the orphan's wealth to my wealth, with which I bought land, with which I bought cars, and the like of what is used for earning." Among its benefits is that encroaching on the wealth of orphans, by taking the good and giving the bad, or by consuming their wealth, is among the major sins, as indicated by His saying: If someone were to ask: Why did the Exalted not say: "Do not consume their wealth," and not say "along with your own"? The answer is: I say He did not say: "Do not consume their wealth" in a general sense. If He had said: "Do not consume their wealth, for it is indeed a great sin," that would have been sufficient. But He said: Because the guardian of the orphan may conceal it; he may conceal it and mix the orphan's wealth with his own, and who would know about it? Therefore, He said: And on this basis, this — meaning — is not a restriction, such that we would say if he consumed his wealth without adding it to his own, it is permissible. No, we do not say that. Rather, we say that Allah mentioned this because some guardians conceal it by mixing the orphan's wealth with their own, and no one knows about it.