Surah An Nisa Tafseer

Protecting the Property of the Orphans

Allah says;

وَاتُواْ الْيَتَامَى أَمْوَالَهُمْ

And give unto orphans their property

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 الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ

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-Nakhai 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 تَأْكُلُواْ أَمْوَالَهُمْ إِلَى أَمْوَالِكُمْ

and devour not their substance to your substance.

Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Muqatil bin Hayyan, As-Suddi and Sufyan bin Hassin stated,

means, do not mix them together so that you eat up both.

Allah said,

إِنَّهُ كَانَ حُوبًا كَبِيرًا

Surely, this is a great sin.

According to Ibn Abbas,

a major and substantial sin.

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