The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 184
CH. 4 AN-NISA' PT. 4 وَوَرِثَةَ أَبَوَهُ فَلِأُمِّهِ القُلتُ ۚ فَإِنْ كَانَ each of them a sixth of the inheritance, if he have a child; لَةَ إِخْوَةٌ فَلِأُمِّهِ السُّدُسُ مِنْ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ but if he have no child and his يَوْمِي بِهَا أَوْ دَيْنِ أَبَاؤُكُمْ parents be his heirs, then his وَابْنَاؤُكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ ,he have brothers and sisters لَكُمْ نَفْعًا فَرِيْضَةً مِّنَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا mother shall have a third; and if then his mother shall have a sixth, after the payment of any bequests he may have bequeathed or of debt. Your fathers and your children, you know not which of them is nearest to you in benefit. This fixing of portions is from Allah. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, Wise. 494 superfluous are not really so. They have been added to point out that the fire which they swallow will, as it were, become a part of their bodies and continue as a constant source of burning. 494. Important Words: the ابونه his parents is really) ابويه 0 letter being dropped owing to The word is the genitive of which is the dual form of ✓ which is originally meaning, father or grandfather or any male ancestor or paternal uncle. literally meaning "two fathers" signifies "father and mother" (Lane). N, (child) is very general in its significance meaning: (1) a child, son, daughter or a young one; (2) children, sons, daughters, offspring or young ones. Thus the word is used 624 both as singular and plural, feminine and masculine (Lane). Commentary: This and the succeeding verse combined with the last verse of the Surah give the Islamic law of inheritance in a nutshell. Islam prescribes suitable shares for all near relatives in the property of a deceased person without distinction of sex or order of birth. Children, parents, husbands and wives are the principal heirs who, if alive, get suitable shares in all circumstances, other relations having a title only in special cases. A male has been given double the share of a female because he has been made responsible for the maintenance of the family (Ma'ānī, vol. ii, p. 32). The Islamic law of inheritance is