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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Exegesis of the verse: (( And test the orphans until they reach the age of marriage. If you perceive in them maturity... ))

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Then Allah the Exalted said:
And test the orphans [in their abilities] until they reach marriageable age وابتلوا اليتامى حتى إذا بلغوا النكاح ...
[An-Nisa 4:6]
Test ابتلوا
Test them, and
the orphans اليتامى
is the plural of orphan, meaning anyone whose father died before he reached maturity, i.e., before the child reached maturity or before the father reached maturity? Before the child reached maturity. Anyone whose father died before his maturity, meaning the child's maturity. And His saying:
until they reach حتى إذا بلغوا
"until" here is introductory, meaning test them and continue testing them
until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them حتى إذا بلغوا النكاح فإن آنستم منهم رشدا فادفعوا إليهم أموالهم
[An-Nisa 4:6]
"when" is conditional, and His saying:
if you perceive فإن علمتم
is also conditional,
release their property to them فادفعوا إليهم أموالهم
[An-Nisa 4:6]
is the response to the condition, so this is a condition within another condition, which is permissible in the Arabic language. From this is the saying of the poet:
If you call for our aid, if you seek our help, you will find in us strongholds of honor adorned with generosity
This
until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them حتى إذا بلغوا النكاح فإن آنستم منهم رشدا فادفعوا إليهم أموالهم
[An-Nisa 4:6]
is a condition within a condition. And His saying:
if you perceive فإن آنستم
means you perceived, and from this is His saying:
he perceived from the direction of the mount a fire آنس آنست من جانب الطور نارا
[Al-Qasas 28:29]
meaning he perceived. And His saying:
sound judgment رشدا
Maturity in every context is according to its context, but all its meanings are gathered in one word, which is: good management. This is maturity. If it is in wealth, it is that a person buys and sells repeatedly and does not cheat except by what is customary... ceasing from what Allah has forbidden. And if it is in managing for others, it is that he is a good guardian. From this is maturity in the guardians of marriage, and that he knows about suitability and the interests of marriage. So maturity? In every context according to its context. What is intended here? Maturity, meaning correct management of their wealth.
release their property to them فادفعوا إليهم أموالهم
[An-Nisa 4:6]
means give them their wealth. And His saying:
then hand over to them فادفعوا إليهم
means deliver it to them and do not say: "Come, take your wealth." You should deliver it to them. It will come that this guardian has a wage or eats by custom according to what the situation requires.
and do not consume it وتأكلوها
means their wealth.
excessively and quickly, [anticipating] that they will grow up إسرافا وبدارا أن يكبروا
[An-Nisa 4:6]
His saying:
in excess إسرافا
may be an absolute object, meaning the greatest extravagance. Extravagance is exceeding the limit, and it is also in every context according to its context. And His saying:
in haste بدارا
means hastening, so it is from the root meaning to hasten in a matter. And His saying:
for them to grow up أن يكبروا
means hastening for their maturity, meaning they hasten their maturity, because when they mature, the guardianship is lifted from them and they become mature. Perhaps some guardians eat their wealth in a way that is extravagant or in a way that is economical but they hasten. For this reason, no one says that the two words are synonyms, but we say extravagance is exceeding the limit. So if ten is sufficient for him, he takes fifteen.
and in haste وبدارا
means that he takes without extravagance but he hastens. He hastens to eat before taking possession.
And test the orphans [in their abilities] until they reach marriageable age. Then if you perceive in them sound judgement, release their property to them. And do not consume it excessively and quickly, [anticipating] that they will grow up. And whoever, [when acting as guardian], is self-sufficient should refrain [from taking a fee]; and whoever is poor - let him take according to what is acceptable. Then when you release their property to them, bring witnesses upon them. And sufficient is Allah as Accountant. ومن كان غنيا فليستعفف
[An-Nisa 4:6]
Whoever among the guardians is rich and does not need the orphan's wealth, let him refrain, meaning let him abstain from eating.
and whoever is poor - let him take according to what is acceptable ومن كان فقيرا فليأكل بالمعروف
[An-Nisa 4:6]
The lam in His saying:
let him refrain فليستعفف
is for command, and the second is for permissibility. I say the lam in His saying:
let him refrain فليستعفف
is for command, and in His saying:
let him eat فليأكل
is for permissibility. That is because the first is required to refrain, and the second is permitted to eat. If someone asks: What took the lam in His saying:
let him eat فليأكل
out of command? We say: Because it followed the prohibition, which is His saying:
And do not consume it excessively and quickly ولا تأكلوها إسرافا وبدارا
[An-Nisa 4:6]
And command after prohibition to lift the prohibition means either for permissibility according to the saying of some scholars, or to lift the prohibition. And here, if the prohibition is lifted, it is permissible.
and whoever is poor - let him take according to what is acceptable ومن كان فقيرا فليأكل بالمعروف
[An-Nisa 4:6]
means let him eat by custom, meaning by what is customary. So he does not eat like the rich, but he eats like his peers. An example of that: if he is poor and says, "I will eat like the rich because I am his guardian," we say it is not permissible. Eat by custom, and custom is what is customary. It is known that the eating of the poor is not like the eating of the rich. He said:
Then when you release their property to them, bring witnesses upon them فإذا دفعتم إليهم أموالهم فأشهدوا عليهم
[An-Nisa 4:6]
And when do we deliver their wealth to them? When they reach maturity and become mature.
Then when you release their property to them, bring witnesses upon them فإذا دفعتم إليهم أموالهم فأشهدوا عليهم
[An-Nisa 4:6]
means bear witness that you delivered it.
And Allah is sufficient as a Reckoner. وكفى بالله حسيبا
Suffice كفى
from sufficiency, meaning He, Exalted and Majestic, is sufficient for everyone. The ba in His saying:
by Allah بالله
is extra for the beauty of the expression, and the original is "and Allah is sufficient as a Reckoner" and the Reckoner means the Watcher who accounts. So this verse, as you saw, Allah concluded with this phrase as a warning to the guardians of orphans not to dare to eat their wealth extravagantly and hastily before they mature.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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