http://www.recitequran.com/tafsir/en.ibn-kathir/4:1
http://www.recitequran.com/tafsir/en.ibn-kathir/4:1
4
An-Nisa'
The Women
Ibn Kathir - English
Verse
1
Page 77
Virtues of Surat An-Nisa`, A Madinan Surah
Al-`Awfi
reported that Ibn `Abbas said that Surat An-Nisa' was revealed in
Al-Madinah. Ibn Marduwyah recorded similar statements from `Abdullah bin
Az-Zubayr and Zayd bin Thabit. In his Mustadrak, Al-Hakim recorded that
`Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "There are five Ayat in Surat An-Nisa' that I
would prefer to the life of this world and all that is in it,
﴿ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَظۡلِمُ مِثۡقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ۬ۖ ﴾
(Surely, Allah wrongs not even the weight of an atom,) (4:40),
﴿ إِن تَجۡتَنِبُواْ ڪَبَآٮِٕرَ مَا تُنۡہَوۡنَ عَنۡهُ ﴾
(If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden to do) (4:31),
﴿ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغۡفِرُ أَن يُشۡرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغۡفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٲلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُۚ ﴾
(Verily,
Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in
worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills)
(4:48),
﴿ وَلَوۡ أَنَّهُمۡ إِذ ظَّلَمُوٓاْ أَنفُسَهُمۡ جَآءُوكَ ﴾
(If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you) (4:64), and,
﴿ وَمَن يَعۡمَلۡ سُوٓءًا أَوۡ يَظۡلِمۡ نَفۡسَهُ ۥ ثُمَّ يَسۡتَغۡفِرِ ٱللَّهَ يَجِدِ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورً۬ا رَّحِيمً۬ا ﴾
(And
whoever does evil or wrongs himself, but afterwards seeks Allah's
forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful) (4:110).
'' Al-Hakim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "Ask me about Surat An-Nisa',
for I learned the Qur'an when I was still young.'' Al-Hakim said, "This
Hadith is Sahih according to the criteria of the Two Sahihs, and they
did not collect it.''
﴿ بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ﴾
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
﴿
يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن
نَّفۡسٍ۬ وَٲحِدَةٍ۬ وَخَلَقَ مِنۡہَا زَوۡجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنۡہُمَا
رِجَالاً۬ كَثِيرً۬ا وَنِسَآءً۬ۚ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى
تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِۦ وَٱلۡأَرۡحَامَۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ
رَقِيبً۬ا ﴾
(1.
O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, Who created you from a single
person, and from him He created his mate, and from them both He created
many men and women, and have Taqwa of Allah through Whom you demand your
mutual (rights), and revere the wombs. Surely, Allah is always watching
over you.)
The Command to have Taqwa, a Reminder about Creation, and Being Kind to Relatives
Allah
commands His creatures to have Taqwa of Him by worshipping Him Alone
without partners. He also reminds to them of His ability, in that He
created them all from a single person, Adam, peace be unto him.
﴿ وَخَلَقَ مِنۡہَا زَوۡجَهَا ﴾
(And
from him He created his wife) Hawwa' (Eve), who was created from Adam's
left rib, from his back while he was sleeping. When Adam woke up and
saw Hawwa', he liked her and had affection for her, and she felt the
same toward him. An authentic Hadith states,
«
إِنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ خُلِقَتْ مِنْ ضِلَعٍ، وَإِنَّ أَعْوَجَ شَيْءٍ فِي
الضِّلَعِ أَعْلَاهُ، فَإِنْ ذَهَبْتَ تُقِيمُهُ كَسَرْتَهُ، وَإِنِ
اسْتَمْتَعْتَ بِهَا اسْتَمْتَعْتَ بِهَا وَفِيهَا عِوَج »
(Woman
was created from a rib. Verily, the most curved portion of the rib is
its upper part, so, if you should try to straighten it, you will break
it, but if you leave it as it is, it will remain crooked.) Allah's
statement,
﴿ وَبَثَّ مِنۡہُمَا رِجَالاً۬ كَثِيرً۬ا وَنِسَآءً۬ۚ ﴾
(And
from them both He created many men and women;) means, Allah created
from Adam and Hawwa' many men and women and distributed them throughout
the world in various shapes, characteristics, colors and languages. In
the end, their gathering and return will be to Allah. Allah then said,
﴿ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ ٱلَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِۦ وَٱلۡأَرۡحَامَۚ ﴾
(And
have Taqwa of Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights) and
revere the wombs), protect yourself from Allah by your acts of obedience
to Him. Allah's statement,
﴿ ٱلَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِۦ ﴾
(through
Whom you demand your mutual (rights)), is in reference to when some
people say, "I ask you by Allah, and then by the relation of the Rahim
(the womb, i.e. my relationship to you)'', according to Ibrahim, Mujahid
and Al-Hasan. Ad-Dahhak said; "Fear Allah Whom you invoke when you
conduct transactions and contracts.'' "And revere the womb by not
cutting the relations of the womb, but keep and honor them, as Ibn
`Abbas, `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Ad-Dahhak, Ar-Rabi`, and others
have stated. Allah's statement,
﴿ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ رَقِيبً۬ا ﴾
(Surely,
Allah is always watching over you.) means, He watches all your deeds
and sees your every circumstance. In another Ayah, Allah said;
﴿ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ شَہِيدٌ ﴾
(And Allah is Witness over all things.) (58:6). An authentic Hadith states,
« اعْبُدِ اللهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ، فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاك »
(Worship
Allah as if you see Him, for even though you cannot see Him, He sees
you.) This part of the Ayah encourages having a sense of certainty that
Allah is always watching, in a complete and perfect manner. Allah
mentioned that He has created mankind from a single father and a single
mother, so that they feel compassion for each other and are kind to the
weaker among them. In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that Jarir bin
`Abdullah Al-Bajali said that a delegation from Mudar came to the
Messenger of Allah , and he saw their state, wearing striped woolen
clothes due to poverty. After the Zuhr prayer, the Messenger of Allah
stood up and gave a speech in which he recited,
﴿ يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفۡسٍ۬ وَٲحِدَةٍ۬ ﴾
(O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, Who created you from a single person,) until the end of the Ayah. He also recited,
﴿ يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَلۡتَنظُرۡ نَفۡسٌ۬ مَّا قَدَّمَتۡ لِغَدٍ۬ۖ ﴾
(O
you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah. And let every person look to what
he has sent forth for the tomorrow) (59:18). He also encouraged them to
give charity, saying,
« تَصَدَّقَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ دِينَارِهِ، مِنْ دِرْهَمِهِ، مِنْ صَاعِ بُرِّهِ، مِنْ صَاعِ تَمْرِه »
(A
man gave Sadaqah from his Dinar, from his Dirham, from his Sa` of
wheat, from his Sa` of dates) until the end of the Hadith. This
narration was also collected by Ahmad and the Sunan compilers from Ibn
Mas`ud.
﴿
وَءَاتُواْ ٱلۡيَتَـٰمَىٰٓ أَمۡوَٲلَہُمۡۖ وَلَا تَتَبَدَّلُواْ
ٱلۡخَبِيثَ بِٱلطَّيِّبِۖ وَلَا تَأۡكُلُوٓاْ أَمۡوَٲلَهُمۡ إِلَىٰٓ
أَمۡوَٲلِكُمۡۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ كَانَ حُوبً۬ا كَبِيرً۬ا •
وَإِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ أَلَّا تُقۡسِطُواْ فِى ٱلۡيَتَـٰمَىٰ فَٱنكِحُواْ مَا
طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثۡنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَۖ فَإِنۡ
خِفۡتُمۡ أَلَّا تَعۡدِلُواْ فَوَٲحِدَةً أَوۡ مَا مَلَكَتۡ
أَيۡمَـٰنُكُمۡۚ ذَٲلِكَ أَدۡنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعُولُواْ •
وَءَاتُواْ ٱلنِّسَآءَ صَدُقَـٰتِہِنَّ نِحۡلَةً۬ۚ فَإِن طِبۡنَ لَكُمۡ
عَن شَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنۡهُ نَفۡسً۬ا فَكُلُوهُ هَنِيٓـًٔ۬ا مَّرِيٓـًٔ۬ا ﴾
(2.
And give unto orphans their property and do not exchange (your) bad
things for (their) good ones; and devour not their substance (by adding
it) to your substance. Surely, this is a great sin.) (3. And if you fear
that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls, then
marry (other) women of your choice, two or three, or four; but if you
fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only
one or (the captives and the servants) that your right hands possess.
That is nearer to prevent you from Ta`ulu.) (4. And give to the women
(whom you marry) their Saduqat (or dowry) Nihlah (with a good heart),
but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you,
take it, and enjoy it without fear of any harm.)
Protecting the Property of the Orphans
Allah
commands that the property of the orphans be surrendered to them in
full when they reach the age of adolescence, and He forbids using or
confiscating any part of it. So He said;
﴿ وَلَا تَتَبَدَّلُواْ ٱلۡخَبِيثَ بِٱلطَّيِّبِۖ ﴾
(and
do not exchange (your) bad things for (their) good ones;) Sa`id bin
Al-Musayyib and Az-Zuhri commented, "Do not substitute a weak animal of
yours for a fat animal (of the orphans).'' Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and
Ad-Dahhak commented, "Do not give something of bad quality for something
of good quality.'' As-Suddi said, "One of them (caretakers of orphans)
would take a fat sheep from the orphan's property and put in its place, a
weak sheep of his, saying, `A sheep for a sheep.' He would also take a
good Dirham and exchange it for a fake Dirham, saying, `A Dirham for a
Dirham.''' Allah's statement,
﴿ وَلَا تَأۡكُلُوٓاْ أَمۡوَٲلَهُمۡ إِلَىٰٓ أَمۡوَٲلِكُمۡۚ ﴾
(and
devour not their substance to your substance.) means, do not mix them
together so that you eat up both, as Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Muqatil
bin Hayyan, As-Suddi and Sufyan bin Hassin stated. Allah said,
﴿ إِنَّهُ ۥ كَانَ حُوبً۬ا كَبِيرً۬ا ﴾
(Surely,
this is a great sin. ), a major and substantial sin, according to Ibn
`Abbas. This was also reported from Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr,
Al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Qatadah, Muqatil bin Hayyan, Ad-Dahhak, Abu Malik,
Zayd bin Aslam and Abu Sinan. The meaning above is: adding their
property to your property is a grave sin and a major mistake, so avoid
it.
The Prohibition of Marrying Female Orphans Without Giving a Dowry
Allah said,
﴿ وَإِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ أَلَّا تُقۡسِطُواْ فِى ٱلۡيَتَـٰمَىٰ فَٱنكِحُواْ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثۡنَىٰ ﴾
(And
if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan
girls, then marry (other) women of your choice, two) Allah commands,
when one of you is the caretaker of a female orphan and he fears that he
might not give her a dowry that is suitable for women of her status, he
should marry other women, who are plenty as Allah has not restricted
him. Al-Bukhari recorded that `A'ishah said, "A man was taking care of a
female orphan and he married her, although he did not desire to marry
her. That girl's money was mixed with his, and he was keeping her
portion from her. Afterwards, this Ayah was revealed about his case;
﴿ وَإِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ أَلَّا تُقۡسِطُواْ ﴾
(If
you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly)'' Al-Bukhari
recorded that `Urwah bin Az-Zubayr said that he asked `A'ishah about the
meaning of the statement of Allah,
﴿ وَإِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ أَلَّا تُقۡسِطُواْ فِى ٱلۡيَتَـٰمَىٰ ﴾
(If
you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan
girls.) She said, "O my nephew! This is about the orphan girl who lives
with her guardian and shares his property. Her wealth and beauty may
tempt him to marry her without giving her an adequate dowry which might
have been given by another suitor. So, such guardians were forbidden to
marry such orphan girls unless they treated them justly and gave them
the most suitable dowry; otherwise they were ordered to marry woman
besides them.'' `A'ishah further said, "After that verse, the people
again asked the Messenger of Allah (about marriage with orphan girls),
so Allah revealed the Ayah,
﴿ وَيَسۡتَفۡتُونَكَ فِى ٱلنِّسَآءِۖ ﴾
(They ask your instruction concerning the women..) (4:127). '' She said, "Allah's statement in this Ayah,
﴿ وَتَرۡغَبُونَ أَن تَنكِحُوهُنَّ ﴾
(yet whom you desire to marry) (4:127)﴾
refers to the guardian who does not desire to marry an orphan girl
under his supervision because she is neither wealthy nor beautiful. The
guardians were forbidden to marry their orphan girls possessing property
and beauty without being just to them, as they generally refrain from
marrying them (when they are neither beautiful nor wealthy).''
The Permission to Marry Four Women
Allah's statement,
﴿ مَثۡنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَۖ ﴾
(two
or three, or four), means, marry as many women as you like, other than
the orphan girls, two, three or four. We should mention that Allah's
statement in another Ayah,
﴿ جَاعِلِ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ رُسُلاً أُوْلِىٓ أَجۡنِحَةٍ۬ مَّثۡنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَۚ ﴾
(Who
made the angels messengers with wings, - two or three or four) (35:1)
does not mean that other angels do not have more than four wings, as
there are proofs that some angels do have more wings. Yet, men are
prohibited from marrying more than four wives, as the Ayah decrees,
since the Ayah specifies what men are allowed of wives, as Ibn `Abbas
and the majority of scholars stated. If it were allowed for them to have
more than four wives, the Ayah would have mentioned it. Imam Ahmad
recorded that Salim said that his father said that Ghilan bin Salamah
Ath-Thaqafi had ten wives when he became Muslim, and the Prophet said to
him, "Choose any four of them (and divorce the rest).'' During the
reign of `Umar, Ghilan divorced his remaining wives and divided his
money between his children. When `Umar heard news of this, he said to
Ghilan, "I think that the devil has conveyed to your heart the news of
your imminent death, from what the devil hears during his eavesdropping.
It may as well be that you will not remain alive but for a little
longer. By Allah! You will take back your wives and your money, or I
will take possession of this all and will order that your grave be
stoned as is the case with the grave of Abu Righal (from Thamud, who was
saved from their fate because he was in the Sacred Area. But, when he
left it, he was tormented like they were).'' Ash-Shafi`i, At-Tirmidhi,
Ibn Majah, Ad-Daraqutni and Al-Bayhaqi collected this Hadith up to the
Prophet's statement, "Choose any four of them.'' Only Ahmad collected
the full version of this Hadith. Therefore, had it been allowed for men
to marry more than four women at the same time, the Prophet would have
allowed Ghilan to keep more than four of his wives since they all
embraced Islam with him. When the Prophet commanded him to keep just
four of them and divorce the rest, this indicated that men are not
allowed to keep more than four wives at a time under any circumstances.
If this is the case concerning those who already had more than four
wives upon embracing Islam, then this ruling applies even more so to
marrying more than four.
Marrying Only One Wife When One Fears He Might not Do Justice to His Wives
Allah's statement,
﴿ فَإِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ أَلَّا تَعۡدِلُواْ فَوَٲحِدَةً أَوۡ مَا مَلَكَتۡ أَيۡمَـٰنُكُمۡۚ ﴾
(But
if you fear that you will not be able to deal justly (with them), then
only one or what your right hands possess.) The Ayah commands, if you
fear that you will not be able to do justice between your wives by
marrying more than one, then marry only one wife, or satisfy yourself
with only female captives, for it is not obligatory to treat them
equally, rather it is recommended. So if one does so, that is good, and
if not, there is no harm on him. In another Ayah, Allah said,
﴿ وَلَن تَسۡتَطِيعُوٓاْ أَن تَعۡدِلُواْ بَيۡنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ وَلَوۡ حَرَصۡتُمۡۖ ﴾
(You will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire) (4:129). Allah said,
﴿ ذَٲلِكَ أَدۡنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعُولُواْ ﴾
(That
is nearer to prevent you from Ta`ulu), meaning, from doing injustice.
Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduwyah and Abu Hatim Ibn Hibban, in his Sahih,
recorded that `A'ishah said that, the Prophet said that the Ayah,
﴿ ذَٲلِكَ أَدۡنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعُولُواْ ﴾
(That
is nearer to prevent you from Ta`ulu), means, from doing injustice.
However, Ibn Abi Hatim said that his father said that this Hadith to the
Prophet is a mistake, for it should be attributed to `A'ishah not the
Prophet . Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Ibn `Abbas, `A'ishah, Mujahid,
`Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Abu Malik, Abu Razin, An-Nakha`i, Ash-Sha`bi,
Ad-Dahhak, `Ata' Al-Khurasani, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Muqatil bin Hayyan
that Ta`ulu means to deviate (from justice).
Giving the Dowry is Obligatory
`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported Ibn `Abbas saying, Nihlah, in Allah's statement,
﴿ وَءَاتُواْ ٱلنِّسَآءَ صَدُقَـٰتِہِنَّ نِحۡلَةً۬ۚ ﴾
(And
give to the women (whom you marry) their Saduqat Nihlah) refers to the
dowry. Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated from Az-Zuhri that `Urwah said that
`A'ishah said that `Nihlah' means `obligatory'. Muqatil, Qatadah and Ibn
Jurayj said, `Nihlah' means `obligatory' Ibn Jurayj added: `specified.'
Ibn Zayd said, "In Arabic, Nihlah, refers to what is necessary. So
Allah is commanding: Do not marry unless you give your wife something
that is her right. No person after the Prophet is allowed to marry a
woman except with the required dowry, nor by giving false promises about
the dowry ﴿intended﴾.''
Therefore, the man is required to pay a dowry to his wife with a good
heart, just as he gives a gift with a good heart. If the wife gives him
part or all of that dowry with a good heart, her husband is allowed to
take it, as it is lawful for him in this case. This is why Allah said
afterwards,
﴿ فَإِن طِبۡنَ لَكُمۡ عَن شَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنۡهُ نَفۡسً۬ا فَكُلُوهُ هَنِيٓـًٔ۬ا مَّرِيٓـًٔ۬ا ﴾
(But if they, of their own pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it, and enjoy it without fear of any harm.)
﴿
وَلَا تُؤۡتُواْ ٱلسُّفَهَآءَ أَمۡوَٲلَكُمُ ٱلَّتِى جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ
لَكُمۡ قِيَـٰمً۬ا وَٱرۡزُقُوهُمۡ فِيہَا وَٱكۡسُوهُمۡ وَقُولُواْ لَهُمۡ
قَوۡلاً۬ مَّعۡرُوفً۬ا • وَٱبۡتَلُواْ
ٱلۡيَتَـٰمَىٰ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغُواْ ٱلنِّكَاحَ فَإِنۡ ءَانَسۡتُم
مِّنۡہُمۡ رُشۡدً۬ا فَٱدۡفَعُوٓاْ إِلَيۡہِمۡ أَمۡوَٲلَهُمۡۖ وَلَا
تَأۡكُلُوهَآ إِسۡرَافً۬ا وَبِدَارًا أَن يَكۡبَرُواْۚ وَمَن كَانَ
غَنِيًّ۬ا فَلۡيَسۡتَعۡفِفۡۖ وَمَن كَانَ فَقِيرً۬ا فَلۡيَأۡكُلۡ
بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِۚ فَإِذَا دَفَعۡتُمۡ إِلَيۡہِمۡ أَمۡوَٲلَهُمۡ
فَأَشۡہِدُواْ عَلَيۡہِمۡۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ حَسِيبً۬ا ﴾
(5.
And give not unto the unwise your wealth which Allah has made a means
of support for you, but feed and clothe them therewith, and speak to
them words of kindness and justice.) (6. And test orphans until they
reach the age of marriage; if then you find sound judgment in them,
release their property to them, but consume it not wastefully and
hastily, fearing that they should grow up. And whoever among guardians
is rich, he should take no wages, but if he is poor, let him have for
himself what is just and reasonable (according to his work). And when
you release their property to them, take a witness in their presence;
and Allah is All-Sufficient in taking account.)
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