Surah an-Nisa' (Women ) 4 : 127

Overview (Verse 127)

The Rights of Orphan Girls
 
They ask you for rulings concerning women. Say, God [Himself] gives you His rulings concerning them, as well as what is conveyed to you through this Book about orphan women whom you deny what has been assigned to them, and you are disinclined to marry them; and concerning helpless children, and about your duty to treat orphans with fairness. Whatever good you may do, God knows it fully. (Verse 127)
 
The verses with which the sūrah opens and which outline a number of regulations about women raised many questions in the Muslims’ minds about different aspects of the position of women. Those in the newly-established Muslim community formulated questions which required rulings on different matters. This indicated a genuine desire on their part to know every ruling of their faith in all matters of life. The move they have made from ignorance to Islam had a far-reaching effect on their hearts. They felt that they needed to question everything they did in their pre-Islamic days, fearing that it might have been outlawed or modified by Islam. They wanted to be sure of the Islamic view on all matters. It is true that certain traces of ignorance lingered with them, but what was much more significant was their genuine desire to make sure that their lifestyle was in conformity with Islam. Hence their questionings and their requests for explanations and rulings.
 
This was not merely an intellectual exercise, aiming only to learn a little more about this religion. They wanted to know in order to practise what they learned. The first generation of Muslims realised that they were born anew when they adopted this faith. Moreover, they considered the great change which took place in their lives as priceless. Hence, they feared to continue with any practices and habits that might be in conflict with Islam. Their anxiety and their resolve to follow whatever rulings Islam gave earned them a great favour indeed. God Himself took care of them and took it upon Himself to answer their queries.
 
“They ask you for rulings concerning women. Say, God [Himself’ gives you His rulings concerning them.” (Verse 127) They put their questions to God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) but God, limitless is He in His glory, extends to them His favours and tells the Prophet to say to them: God will answer your questions about women and concerning the other matters mentioned in this verse. This is a gesture of great care and honour bestowed on the Muslim community, as God addresses them Himself, giving them the answers to their questions and explaining what they need in their new style of life. The ruling given here portrays a situation that existed in pre-Islamic Arabian society and which lingered on. It gives the required directive to elevate the Muslim community and to purge it of all traces of ignorance: “Say, God [Himself] gives you His ruling concerning them, as well as what is conveyed to you through this Book about orphan women whom you deny what has been assigned to them, and you are disinclined to marry them; and concerning helpless children, and about your duty to treat orphans with fairness.” (Verse 127)
 
`Abdullāh ibn `Abbās is reported to have made the following comment on this verse: “In ignorant days, a man may have an orphan girl in his charge and he throws his dress over her. When he does that, no one is allowed to marry her. If she is pretty and he likes her, he marries her and takes all her wealth. If she is ugly, he prevents her from marrying until she dies, when he inherits her wealth. God has forbidden all that.” Ibn `Abbās also explains that the phrase “and concerning helpless children,” refers to the fact that in pre-Islamic days, the Arabs used not to give any share of inheritance to their children or to their women. This is what is meant by the statement: “Whom you deny what has been assigned to them.” Again, God has forbidden this. He has assigned to each his or her share, saying that a male inherits a share which is equivalent to the shares of two females. This applies to both young and grown up alike.
 
Sa`īd ibn Jubayr explains that the statement “and about your duty to treat orphans with fairness” refers to cases when an orphan girl is pretty. Her guardian may say: I am marrying her and taking her for myself. If she is not pretty and has no wealth, he allows her to marry someone else after depriving her of whatever little she may have.
 
`Ā’ishah, the Prophet’s wife, explains that this verse refers to a situation when a man is in charge of an orphan girl and he is also her heir. She may enter into some partnership with him. He may not want to marry her himself, as she may not be pretty. At the same time, he does not want her to marry anyone else, lest her husband become his partner. Her guardian, then, prevents her from marrying anyone. This verse was revealed to prohibit this practice. (Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
 
`Ā’ishah is also reported to have said: “People began to ask God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) for rulings concerning women after the early verses of this sūrah were revealed. God then sent down this verse, telling the Prophet: “They ask you for rulings concerning women. Say, God Himself you His rulings concerning them, as well as what is conveyed to you through this Book...” (Verse 127) As for what God refers to as being conveyed through this book, it is simply the verse which occurs at the beginning of the sūrah and states: “If you fear that you may not deal fairly by the orphans, you may marry of other women as may be agreeable to you, two or three or four.” (Verse 3) Another statement attributed to `Ā’ishah suggests that God’s statement about the disinclination to marry such orphans refers to the lack of desire on the part of a guardian to marry an orphan girl in his charge when she is plain and has little money of her own. This is, then, an order prohibiting Muslims to marry those orphans whom they desire only for their wealth or beauty, unless such a marriage is conducted with fairness and justice.
 
Traditional Injustice Removed
 
It is clear from these statements, as well as the Qur’ānic text itself, that orphan girls had a very raw deal in pre-Islamic Arabia. Such a girl suffered from the greed and injustice of her guardian. His greed prompted him to devour her wealth. If he decided to marry her, he would not give her a fair dowry. On the other hand, if her guardian did not marry her on account of her being plain, she still suffered injustice, because he would not allow her to marry someone else, so that her husband could not share with him her wealth.
 
The same sort of treatment was extended to children. Women and children were deprived of their shares of inheritance because they were powerless or they were classified as non-fighters. The tribal attitude at the time gave every right to those who were able to fight, and left nothing for the powerless who could not take part in the battle.
 
It is these ignoble traditions which Islam set out to change, replacing them with noble and humane traditions. This was not merely a great reform of Arabian society. It was indeed a new birth which gave the Arabs a new character, different from their pre-Islamic one.
 
What is important to note is that this new birth was not preceded by any steps or developments preparing the way for it. Nor did it begin with a sudden economic or material change in the life of that Arabian society. The move from assigning rights of inheritance and possession on the basis of ability to fight to giving them on a purely humane basis was not the result of any newly-discovered ability on their part. Nor were children, orphan girls, and women given their rights of inheritance and ownership as the fruit of any new period of stability which reduced the importance of fighters. Indeed, fighters enjoyed even greater importance in the new regime. What had changed was that Islam came into being, and with it, there was a new birth of humanity, accomplished through a book and a new code of living. Thus, a new society was born in the same land and under the same conditions, without any revolutionary raising slogans of increasing national production or material wealth. There was only a revolution in concepts which led to this rebirth of humanity.
 
It is true that the new Qur’ānic system had to fight hard to erase the elements of ignorance within people and their social habits and traditions, and to replace these with new Islamic elements. It was also true that ignorance continued to resist such a change, leaving lingering traces in society and making their repeated reappearance in individual cases, or expressing itself in a variety of ways. What is important to state here is that the new system, revealed from on high, and the concept it formulated in the minds of its followers, resisted the pressures of the material world and brought about a total change in society. This change had far-reaching effects: it overhauled concepts, traditions and the whole social set-up. Neither the material conditions nor their inner “counter” elements, nor any change in the means of production nor any other Marxist hallucinations had any say in such a change. There was only one new element in the life of that nation. It was something sent down from on high. Hearts responded to it because it addressed their nature. The secret of this rebirth in man led to a total change in the whole life of society. It was the natural, positive interaction between human nature and the new system formulated by God.
 
Hard as the struggle might have been between the new and the old systems, and painful as the labour and the sacrifices might have been, the remarkable outcome was accomplished because the Divine message and the new faith were the prime movers. Moreover, the benefits of this achievement were not confined to Muslim society; they were extended to all humanity.
 
Therefore, it is only natural that this Qur’ānic statement, which gives the rulings of God regarding questions put to the Prophet concerning women, the rights of orphan girls, and helpless children, should conclude with further emphasis on the relationship between these rights and directives on the one hand, and the source of this whole system on the other: “Whatever good you may do, God knows it fully.” (Verse 127) Nothing good you do goes in vain. A believer addresses every action he takes to God. It is God’s power that gives these directives their ability to influence people’s thoughts and lifestyles.
 
It is not so important how directives and systems derive their influence and effectiveness in shaping human life. The gulf between directives and systems received from God, the Almighty, and ones formulated by fellow human beings is great indeed, even if we assume that both sets are equally good and equally valid. Needless to say, such an assumption is totally unrealistic. It is sufficient for any person to be aware of the source of a certain directive to assign to it its due significance. The importance of a Word said by God, the Most High, is different from that of a word said by a human being.