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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Exegesis of the verse: “And let those fear who, if they were to leave behind them weak offspring of whom they are afraid, so let them fear Allah and say a just word.”

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Then Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
And let those [executors and guardians] fear [injustice] as if they [themselves] had left weak offspring behind and feared for them. So let them fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. وليخش الذين لو تركوا من خلفهم ذرية ضعافا خافوا عليهم فليتقوا الله وليقولوا قولا سديدا
[An-Nisa 4:9]
The lam in His saying:
And let those fear وليخش
is the lam of command, and the verb is in the jussive mood due to it by the deletion of the alif, and the original form of
fear يخشى
“yakhsha” is with an alif, and the lam was made sukun. Why is the lam of command here? It occurred after... Yes, and the lam of command is made sukun when it occurs after the waw, the fa, and thumma. Allah the Exalted said:
Then let them end their untidiness and fulfill their vows ثم ليقضوا تفثهم وليوفوا نذورهم
[Al-Hajj 22:29]
And Allah the Exalted said:
Whoever should think that Allah will not support [Prophet Muhammad] in this world and the Hereafter - let him extend a rope to the ceiling, then cut off من كان يظن أن لن ينصره الله في الدنيا والآخرة فليمدد بسبب إلى السماء ثم ليقطع
[Al-Hajj 22:15]
Unlike the lam of purpose, which is kasrah even if it occurs after the waw, thumma, or the fa, such as His saying, the Exalted:
So that they will deny what We have granted them, and they will enjoy themselves ليكفروا بما آتيناهم وليتمتعوا
[Al-'Ankabut 29:66]
You do not read it as “wa liyamtai'u” unless it is established that there is a reading with the lam in sukun, in which case the lam is the lam of command and not the lam of purpose. And His saying:
as if they [themselves] had left لو تركوا من خلفهم
[An-Nisa 4:9]
“law” here is conditional, its conditional verb is
left behind تركوا
and its response is
they would fear for them خافوا عليهم
Here, the noble verse departed from the most common form in the response to “law”. What is the most common in the response to “law” if it is affirmative? That the lam is attached to it, so it is said: If Zayd came, 'Amr would come; if they left behind them weak offspring, they would fear for them. But the lam is sometimes deleted in the response to “law” in the affirmative, and this verse is an example of that, as is His saying, the Exalted:
And if We willed, We would have made it bitter ولو نشاء لجعلناه أجاجا
And in the same context, He said regarding the plant:
If We willed, We could make it [dry] debris لو نشاء لجعلناه حطاما
[Al-Waqi'ah 56:65]
As for when the response to law is negative with ma, the most eloquent is not to mention the lam. So if you say: If Zayd came, I said nothing, this is more eloquent than saying: I would not have said anything. But the lam may be attached to the negative ma in the response to law, as in the saying of the poet:
And if we were given the choice, we would not have parted, but there is no choice with the passing of days.
What is the conditional verb in “law”?
left behind تركوا
And its response?
they would fear for them خافوا عليهم
And to complete the benefit, “law” comes in several forms. This is one where it is conditional, and the second? That it be nominal (masdariyyah), that it be nominal as in His saying, the Exalted:
They wish that you would soften [in your position], so they would soften [toward you]. ودوا لو تدهن فيدهنون
[Al-Qalam 68:9]
meaning they wished to be soft with you, so they would be soft. And if it comes as conditional, is it a jussive particle? No, it is among the non-jussive conditional particles. And His saying, the Exalted:
Let them fear Allah فليتقوا الله
This is a command to fear Allah, confirming the command to be afraid in His saying:
And let them fear وليخش
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says, reminding those who consume the wealth of orphans and waste it, He says:
And let those [executors and guardians] fear [injustice] as if they [themselves] had left weak offspring behind and feared for them وليخش الذين لو تركوا من خلفهم ذرية ضعافا خافوا عليهم
[An-Nisa 4:9]
Let them fear, the fear being the most intense fear, and it does not occur except with knowledge, due to His saying, the Exalted:
Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge. إنما يخشى الله من عباده العلماء
[Fatir 35:28]
So He says, let those fear who, if they were to leave behind them weak offspring, and the doer and the object of
fears يخشى
are omitted, meaning let them fear that they would waste the wealth of orphans and consume it. And His saying:
weak offspring ذرية ضعافا
The offspring are the children, from sons and daughters, and the sons of sons, and the sons of the sons of sons. As for the daughters' children and the daughters' daughters' children and the sons of the daughters' children, they are not included in the offspring. This is the well-known view among the scholars. If someone were to say: This is a waqf (endowment) for my offspring, would the daughters' children not be included in this waqf?
Source alathar.net

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

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