79 Page Notes

04 Surah An-Nisa (continued)

Page 79 - Related Hadith/Sunnah

4:12

4:13

4:14

Translation of the meaning by Sahih International.

Page 79 - Related Hadiths and Sunnah

Page 79 of the Holy Quran transitions into the final, highly technical elements of Islamic inheritance law via Surah An-Nisa (4:12–14).

While verse 11 (on page 78) established the fixed legal shares for children and parents, verse 12 details the legal shares for spouses (husbands and wives) and maternal half-siblings (Kalalah). Verses 13 and 14 serve as a vital warning, establishing that these mathematical divisions are strictly immutable boundaries (Hudud Allah).

1. Surah An-Nisa, Verse 12: The Priority of Debts and Bequests

"And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child... [all distributions come] after payment of any bequests they may have made or any debts..."

Throughout this verse, Allah repeats the phrase "after payment of any bequests or debts" four separate times. The Sunnah explicitly establishes the legal order of operations when handling an estate: debts must be settled before any legacy or inheritance can be touched.

• The Tradition: Ali ibn Abi Talib reported:
  "You people read the verse: '...after any bequest they may have made or any debt,' but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) decreed that the debt must be paid before the fulfillment of the bequest."

• Source: Jami` at-Tirmidhi (Hadith 2094), Sunan Ibn Majah (Hadith 2715).

2. Surah An-Nisa, Verse 12: The Limit on Bequests (Wasiyyah)

The verse allows a person to leave a voluntary bequest (Wasiyyah) to individuals who are not automatically heirs (such as charities or distant friends). However, the Sunnah limits this to prevent a deceased person from maliciously or recklessly draining the estate to spite their immediate family.

• The Tradition: Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas fell critically ill in Makkah and wanted to leave his massive fortune to charity because he only had one daughter. He asked the Prophet (ﷺ), "May I will away all my property?" The Prophet said, "No." Sa'd asked, "Well, then half?" The Prophet said, "No." Sa'd then asked, "One-third?"

• The Prophet (ﷺ) responded: "One-third, and even one-third is too much. It is better for you to leave your heirs wealthy than to leave them poor and begging from people."

• Source: Sahih al-Bukhari (Hadith 2742), Sahih Muslim (Hadith 1628).

3. Surah An-Nisa, Verse 12: The Clause of "Without Causing Harm" (Ghayra Mudarr)

"...after the payment of the bequest that might have been made or any debts outstanding against the deceased, without causing harm..."

The phrase "without causing harm" (Ghayra Mudarr) specifically references the major sin of fabricating fake debts or creating exaggerated bequests right before death to cheat legitimate family members out of their inheritance.

• The Tradition: Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
  "A man or a woman may spend sixty years obeying Allah, but when death approaches them, they cause harm in their bequest (Mudarr), and thus the Fire becomes mandatory for them." Then Abu Hurairah recited this exact verse: "after payment... without causing harm..."

• Source: Jami` at-Tirmidhi (Hadith 2117), Sunan Abi Dawud (Hadith 2867).

4. Surah An-Nisa, Verse 12: Defining the Maternal Siblings (Kalalah)

"And if a man or a woman leaves property to be inherited by neither parents nor offspring (Kalalah), but has a brother or a sister, then each of them shall receive a sixth..."

The word Kalalah refers to a person who dies leaving behind neither ascendants (parents/grandparents) nor descendants (children/grandchildren). The Prophet's companions heavily investigated the meaning of this verse to ensure exact legal compliance.

• The Tradition: Companion consensus and classical exegesis clarify that the siblings mentioned in this specific section of verse 12 are exclusively maternal half-siblings (brothers or sisters who share only the same mother). Full siblings and paternal half-siblings are governed separately by the very last verse of Surah An-Nisa (Verse 176).

• Source Reference: Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 2, p. 218), drawing from the explicit explanations passed down by the Prophet’s companions, including Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas and Ibn Abbas.

5. Verses 13 & 14: The Divine Boundaries (Hudud Allah)

"These are the bounds [set by] Allah, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens... And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His bounds—He will put him into the Fire..."

Because inheritance calculations often trigger deep greed and family legal battles, Allah concludes page 79 by elevating these specific inheritance ratios into divine boundaries.

• The Sunnah Prohibition on Favoritism: Because Allah Himself divided the estate flawlessly on page 78 and 79, the Prophet (ﷺ) barred Muslims from adding further custom adjustments for their preferred legal heirs.

• Abu Umamah narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) state clearly during his Farewell Pilgrimage: "Allah has appointed for everyone who has a right what is due to them, so there is no bequest (Wasiyyah) to be made to an existing legal heir." (e.g., a father cannot write a separate will leaving an extra house to his favorite son, overriding the Quranic distribution).

• Source: Jami` at-Tirmidhi (Hadith 2120), Sunan Abi Dawud (Hadith 2870).