Surat An-Nisa' (31-40)

{إِن تَجْتَنِبُواْ كَبَآئِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُم مُّدْخَلاً كَرِيماً} [النساء: 31]

31- If you avoid the major sins that you are forbidden to commit, We shall forgive your minor sins and admit you to a good place (i.e., paradise) that Allah prepared for His believing Servants.

{وَلاَ تَتَمَنَّوْاْ مَا فَضَّلَ اللّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبُواْ وَلِلنِّسَاء نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ وَاسْأَلُواْ اللّهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيماً} [النساء: 32]

32- In an authentic Hadith that was reported by At-Tirmidhy, Al Hakim, and Ahmad that Um Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Men are entitled for Jihad and women are not, but we have half of inheritance, So Allah (Glory be to Him) revealed: {And wish not for the things in which Allâh has made some of you to excel others.} The meaning is: And do not wish what Allah (Exalted be He) gave for others and made some of you to excel others for men and women have their share of Allah’s bounty because it is a division that ordained by the All Wise and the All Acquainted. Everyone should be content with the favors that Allah prescribed for them and should not wish the share of others or envy them. Ask Allah of His Benevolence and Favor because His Treasures never end. He is Generous, Giver, and All Knowing of those who deserve His Bounty, therefore He made them ranks with His Wisdom according to their readiness and ability.

{وَلِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مَوَالِيَ مِمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالأَقْرَبُونَ وَالَّذِينَ عَقَدَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ فَآتُوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيداً} [النساء: 33]

33- And for every dead person we made heirs to take their shares from the inheritance of the parents and the close relatives, according to their due rights. As for those you made allies with to inherit from one another before the revelation of this Ayah, give them their right of inheritance. As for the allies made after that, there will be no effect for that because their shares of inheritance were canceled. Allah is All Acquainted with everything including your conditions in withholding and giving.

In the past, a man could agree with another man to inherit each other, but it was abrogated with the Ayah of inheritance {But kindred by blood are nearer to one another (regarding inheritance) in the decree ordained by Allâh.} [Al Anfal: 75].

{الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاء بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَبِمَا أَنفَقُواْ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ فَالصَّالِحَاتُ قَانِتَاتٌ حَافِظَاتٌ لِّلْغَيْبِ بِمَا حَفِظَ اللّهُ وَاللاَّتِي تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَاهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ فَإِنْ أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلاَ تَبْغُواْ عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلاً إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلِيّاً كَبِيراً} [النساء: 34]

34- Of the reasons that men take more share than women in inheritance is because they have Qawamah on them. The meaning of Qawamah is taking care of the daily affairs, management, and discipline. That is because Allah has given preference to men over women in many observed fields, therefore, prophethood was confined to men. They also have many qualities and characteristics to enable them to do works and jobs that women cannot do or unsuitable for them in the first place such as Jihad, leadership, Adhan, delivering a speech, testifying in regard to prescribed penalties and retaliation, taking the charges of blood money in involuntary manslaughter, guardianship in marriage, divorce, and taking women back in marriage, marrying more than one person, and in many other fields, such as firmness and sobriety. Likewise, they are preferred by the monies they spend such as dower and expenditure on women as well as the entire family, in addition to other matters that Allah has ordained on them in His Book and in the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace be upon him).

The pious women of them are obedient to Allah (Glory be to Him), fulfill the due rights of their husbands, protect themselves from anything that may disgrace them during the absence of their husbands, and preserving their monies and everything that must be preserved because Allah had protected their rights by dower and expenditure and assigned someone to defend them and protect them (i.e., men).

As for women whom do you think or fear that they disobey or hate you, advise them and warn them against your disobedience when you see the signs of that. If advice is of no avail, do not sleep with them on the same bed, do not have sexual intercourse with them, and leave them alone because that is a severe punishment for them. If they do not respond to you by advice and abandonment, you may beat them harmlessly, where you should not leave a sign or a trace of beat on their bodies. So, the beat will be for discipline and not for revenge or for harm because what is meant by beat is reformation.

A man should avoid beating the face and the positions of harm as well as the positions of beauty in order not to distort them. It is better to dispense with threatening and not to beat them because of what `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) never beat anyone with his hand, neither a woman nor a servant, but only, in the case when he had been fighting in the cause of Allah. [Reported by Muslim].

If they obey you and returned to their good nature, leave them, do not harm them, and do not abandon them, but forgive them, treat them kindly, and beware not to oppress them. Verily, Allah is their guardian, more Powerful than you, and can take revenge of those who oppress them even after a while.

{وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ شِقَاقَ بَيْنِهِمَا فَابْعَثُواْ حَكَماً مِّنْ أَهْلِهِ وَحَكَماً مِّنْ أَهْلِهَا إِن يُرِيدَا إِصْلاَحاً يُوَفِّقِ اللّهُ بَيْنَهُمَا إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلِيماً خَبِيراً} [النساء: 35]

35- If you fear that the matter exacerbates, the dispute and conflict between the spouses increase, and hatred spreads after using all the previous methods, send a pious and upright person who knows diplomacy from the relatives of the husband and another from the family of the wife. If they have the good will to reconcile between the spouses, Allah will make it easy for them and reconcile between them.

Indeed, Allah is All Knowing with the intentions of people and an Expert of what may reform their affairs and reconcile between them.

{وَاعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ وَلاَ تُشْرِكُواْ بِهِ شَيْئاً وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَاناً وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالاً فَخُوراً} [النساء: 36]

36- Worship Allah alone, obey Him, and do not associate any of His Creatures with Him in worship because He alone is the worthy of worship.

Be kind to your parents: treat them kindly and be filial to them.

Treat your relative nicely: brothers, sisters, and paternal and maternal uncles.

Be kind to the orphans who lost the tenderness and care of their fathers while they are young, so treat them kindly and be good to them.

Likewise, you should do to the needy who cannot find enough sustenance.

In addition to the neighbors of your relatives and the neighbors who are not relative, and the companions who travel with you or accompany you in order to seek benefit from you.

The wayfarer is the one who travels away from his country or it may refer to guests.

As for the salves whom Allah made as captives in your hands, treat them kindly and do not burden them beyond their capacity.

Verily, Allah does not love the haughty arrogant who show off, make people feel that they are better than them, and despise their relatives and neighbors, however, they are vile in the sight of Allah and in the sight of the people.

{الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَاباً مُّهِيناً} [النساء: 37]

37- Those who withhold their monies and do not spend them in the ways instructed by Allah, such as being benevolent to orphans, the needy, neighbors, and guests; moreover they deny the bounty of Allah Who gave them this bounty in order to be grateful and to test them, certainly they have disbelieved in these favors. They shall have a disgracing and painful torment on the Day of the Recompense because they had denied the favor of Allah and concealed it when the people needed it; they shall suffer insults as they insulted the grace of Allah by stinginess and concealment.

{وَالَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ رِئَـاء النَّاسِ وَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَلاَ بِالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَمَن يَكُنِ الشَّيْطَانُ لَهُ قَرِيناً فَسَاء قِرِيناً} [النساء: 38]

38- As for those who spend their monies in order that the people see them and show off in order to be said: “How generous they are!”, while they are unbelievers in Allah Who gives the reward and estimates the punishment, they shall have the same punishment. That is because they do not believe in the Last Day in which a person is rewarded or punished for his actions, therefore, they do not seek the reward of Allah when they spend they monies. Verily, Satan deceived them by beautifying the bad things and whomever Satan was his companion and inspirer will be punished with Hell because it calls the people for disobeying Allah.

{وَمَاذَا عَلَيْهِمْ لَوْ آمَنُواْ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَأَنفَقُواْ مِمَّا رَزَقَهُمُ اللّهُ وَكَانَ اللّهُ بِهِم عَلِيماً} [النساء: 39]

39- What would have happened to them if they followed the right path; believed in Allah, their Creator; and believed in the Day of the Recompense in which a person is rewarded for the good deeds he has done or punished for the bad ones; thereby, people shall fear Allah and improve their behaviors? Then what would have happened if they spent from the sustenance that Allah has provided them out of His Great Bounty, not for pride or boasting in order to benefit others instead of withholding and harm? Verily, Allah was All Knowing of their conditions whether in giving and withholding or reformation and corruption.

{إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ وَإِن تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِن لَّدُنْهُ أَجْراً عَظِيماً} [النساء: 40]

40- Allah does not oppress His Servants even for an iota, so He does not decrease from the reward and does not increase the punishment, but give them their full share. Moreover, He gives them out of His Bounty and if the good deed is equal to an atom, He will double the reward for its doer and give him a great reward.