Continuation of the benefits of the verse: “And test the orphans until they reach the age of marriage. Then, if you perceive in them maturity...”

Among the benefits of this noble verse is the permissibility of a poor person eating from the orphan’s wealth in a customary manner, and the permissibility of the orphan’s guardian eating in a customary manner if he is poor. The apparent meaning of the noble verse is that he eats in a customary manner, even if it exceeds the amount of his wage. For example, if he is a hired worker and his monthly wage is one hundred, but eating in a customary manner requires two hundred for him to be sufficient, do we say it is permissible for him to take the lesser of the two, or is it permissible for him to eat in a customary manner even if it exceeds the wage? The apparent meaning of the noble verse is the latter, because the guardian is restricted in his dealings for the sake of the orphan, so he must have food and drink, so let him eat in a customary manner. Also, this guardian is not like an external hired worker in terms of consideration for the orphan’s wealth, so it is not appropriate to equate him with an external hired worker. However, the well-known view among jurists is that he eats, meaning he takes the lesser of his wage or his sufficiency. Among its benefits is that if he was poor and ate, he is not obligated to return what he ate if Allah makes him wealthy, because the permissible does not become an intentional obligation, because the permissible does not become forbidden. If we said that returning it is obligatory when Allah makes him wealthy, there would be no benefit to the permissibility of eating. Some scholars of knowledge held that it is obligatory to return what he ate if Allah makes him wealthy, as if he had borrowed from the orphan’s wealth rather than eating a permissible amount. But the correct view is the first one: that eating is permissible for him and he is not obligated to return it if Allah makes him wealthy. Among its benefits is considering the situation, and that rulings differ according to circumstances, and this is from the wisdom of the Shari'ah. Where is this taken from? From the distinction between the rich and the poor . Among its benefits is referring to custom, due to His saying: . Among its benefits is that if the money is given to them—to the orphans—after they have reached maturity and sound judgment, let there be witnesses, due to His saying: The original ruling for a command is obligation, and the command to have witnesses is so that there is no dispute between them in the future and so that the guardian is not accused during a dispute. Do you understand? So, to cut off the dispute and prevent the accusation, Allah the Exalted made it obligatory for the guardian to have witnesses when he gives them their wealth. Among its benefits is that if the guardian claims that he gave the money, his claim is not accepted, because if his claim were accepted, we would not need the obligation of having witnesses. Is that not so? Yes, and this is the correct view. The scholars have three opinions on this issue. The first opinion is that his claim of giving is not accepted based on the apparent meaning of the verse. The second opinion is that his claim of giving is accepted, meaning if he is asked later, “Where is my money?” and he says, “I gave it to you.” These people argued with the saying of Allah the Exalted: The third opinion is the middle one: that if he was paid a wage, his claim of giving is not accepted, but if he was working for them for free, his claim of giving is accepted. The reason for this is that if he was taking a wage, his kindness was not pure kindness. Why? Because he kept the money with him for his own benefit, so it does not fall under the saying of Allah the Exalted: Taking the apparent meaning of the verse is preferable, which is that his claim of giving is not accepted except with witnesses, unless there are strong indicators supporting this claim, such as the guardian being known for truthfulness and trustworthiness, and the orphans being known for greed and cowardice. In that case, we accept the guardian’s statement. By what do we accept it? By the indicator of strong appearance. And because if we did not accept his statement, it would prevent people from taking guardianship of orphans’ wealth, because a person may not be able to have witnesses at the time of giving. Among its benefits is warning the guardian against betraying his guardianship and warning the orphan against denying what happened. Where do we take this from? From His saying: If Allah the Exalted is the sufficient accountant for His servants, then a person will fear this reckoning and repent to Allah from it. Among its benefits is caring for orphans and their wealth, because orphans are a place of mercy, since their fathers have died and they have no guardian to meet their needs. Branching from this benefit is the explanation of the mercy of Allah the Exalted, and that the mercy of Allah is with the broken-hearted, with the weak.