﴿They ask you﴾; meaning: they ask you to give them a fatwa; that is: to clarify for them with what you have of generosity; and kindness; and generosity; what has become unclear to them; and what has perplexed them regarding the ruling of [the law of] kinsfolk; and for the importance of the matter of inheritances; He said - indicating that Allah has not entrusted its matter to anyone else -: ﴿Say: Allah﴾; meaning: the Greatest King; ﴿gives you a fatwa regarding kinsfolk﴾; and he is one who has no child; nor parent; Al-Bukhari narrated in the tafsir from Al-Bara' - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: The last surah that was revealed was 'At-Tawbah'; and the last verse that was revealed was: ﴿They ask you, say: Allah gives you a fatwa regarding kinsfolk﴾; and Al-Asbahani said from Ash-Shabi: Abu Bakr and Umar - may Allah be pleased with them both - disagreed regarding kinsfolk; Abu Bakr said: it is what is besides the parent; and Umar said: it is what is besides the parent and the child; then Umar said: I am shy before Allah to oppose Abu Bakr - may Allah be pleased with him -; then he resumed his statement: ﴿If a man dies﴾ meaning: and he is described as such; or in the state of him ﴿having no child﴾; that is: whether he is male or female; regarding the inheritance of half; and he also has no parent; for if he has one of them, he is not called 'kinsfolk'; and the Sunnah has clarified that; Al-Asbahani said: and they are not the first two rulings, one of which was clarified by the Book; and the other by the Sunnah; and it is his saying - blessings and peace be upon him -: "Attach the obligatory shares to their people; and what remains is for the nearest male relative; and the father is closer than the brother." (p-530) And the case is that he has a sister; that is: one; from a father; whether she is a full sister or not; because it will come that her brother will inherit her; so if he was a child of a mother, he would not inherit; ﴿Then for her is half of what he left, and he﴾; meaning: and this deceased brother; ﴿inherits her﴾; that is: if she dies and he remains; all of her wealth; ﴿if she has no child﴾; that is: whether male or female - as has been mentioned in the opposite case; this if what is intended by inheritance is all the wealth; otherwise, he inherits with the female; just as she also inherits with the female - as the context also indicates - without half.

And when He clarified the matter in the case of singularity, He followed it by clarifying it in the case of plurality; and He presented the lesser case; so He said: ﴿But if there are two﴾; meaning: the two inheritors; by clarifying the context for them; and guiding to them; and when He implied what the context indicated; and the report was suitable to be: "two righteous ones"; or: "two small ones"; or otherwise; He clarified that what is intended - as the context also indicates - is the absolute number regardless of any description that is agreed upon; so He said: ﴿two﴾; meaning: from the sisters of the father; whether they were full sisters or not; ﴿then for them are two-thirds of what he left﴾; if they were full sisters, then each of them has a third; and if they differ, then the full sister has half; and the one who is for the father only has a sixth; completing the two-thirds.

And when he clarified the least of the gathering, he followed it with what is above it; he said: ﴿And if they are﴾; meaning: the heir; ﴿brothers﴾; meaning: mixed; ﴿men and women, for the male﴾; meaning: from them; ﴿is like the share of two females﴾; and He has concluded - glorified and exalted is He - what He intended from clarifying the inheritance of the brothers to a father; thus, all the states of what He intended regarding inheritance have been completed; and it is, in its clarity, as you see - capable of volumes; and Allah is the guide; and the placement of this verse here - as previously mentioned - is a sign from Him that whoever refuses to inherit women and minors; about which repeated inquiries have been made; has indeed rejected his worship; and has shown arrogance; even if he believes in all other rulings; and whoever rejects a ruling from the rulings, that is the true disbeliever; just as one who believes in some of the prophets and disbelieves in some is truly a disbeliever; and this is the intent of the devils of the People of the Book who are aware of the validity of these rulings; envious of you regarding them; wanting to lead you astray from them; so that you may share with them in the misery that has befallen them; when they altered the rulings; referred to after mentioning the verses of inheritance; and what follows them regarding the states of marriage; by His saying: ﴿Allah intends to clarify for you and guide you to the ways of those before you﴾ [An-Nisa: 26]; and His saying: ﴿And those who follow desires want you to deviate greatly﴾ [An-Nisa: 27]; then the explicit mention of them in His saying: ﴿Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book, buying misguidance and wanting you to go astray from the way?﴾ [An-Nisa: 44] ﴿And Allah knows best your enemies﴾ [An-Nisa: 45]; and for this reason - and Allah knows best - He concluded this verse with His saying: ﴿Allah clarifies﴾; meaning: He who encompasses all things with power; and knowledge; ﴿for you﴾; meaning: and He has not left you in this clarification to the clarification of others; and He said - encouraging and warning -: ﴿That﴾; meaning: out of dislike for you to ﴿go astray, and Allah﴾; meaning: He who possesses all perfection; ﴿is All-Knowing of all things﴾; meaning: He has clarified for you with His knowledge what is good for you to clarify; in life and death; in this world and the Hereafter; until He has placed you on the clear path; like the light of the day; none deviates from it except the doomed; and the result is that the delay of this verse to here is due to what has preceded from the differentiation of the saying in what the souls reject; and its gradual presentation; gently and progressively; is more likely to be accepted; and to indicate the great concern regarding the matter of the obligations; by making the speech about it in all of the surahs; at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end; and the warning that their condition may be like that of the hypocrites in misleading the People of the Book; by casting doubt; and taking them from the position that their souls desire; and their predecessors have passed upon it; and it has been ingrained in their hearts; and the intimidation that they may be like them in believing in some and disbelieving in some; leading them to complete disbelief; for religion cannot be divided; rather, whoever disbelieves in something from it has disbelieved in all of it; and from here, the relevance of the end of this surah to its beginning becomes evident; for its beginning indicates that all people are like one thing; and that necessitates no distinction between them; except in what Allah has legislated; and its end indicates that by equating between women and men; in the general inheritance; by proximity of kin; even if the shares differ; as if it were said: "O people, fear your Lord who created you from one soul; and created from it its mate; and dispersed from both of them many men and women; and equalized between them in what He intended of the rulings; for indeed, whoever shows arrogance - even if it is regarding one ruling from His rulings - will be punished on the Day of Resurrection; and he will not find for himself besides Allah any supporter; and nothing of his condition is hidden from Him"; and how fitting is the conclusion with the encompassing knowledge; for what the beginning indicated; of the completeness of power! Thus, its end serves as evidence for its beginning; for the completeness of knowledge necessitates the comprehensiveness of power; the Imam said: And these two attributes are those by which the Lordship is established; and the divinity; and the majesty; and the might; and by them, the servant must be obedient to the commands and prohibitions; submissive to all obligations; it has ended; and for the conclusion of the first verse in it with His saying: ﴿Indeed, Allah is ever Watchful over you﴾ [An-Nisa: 1]; meaning: He is All-Knowing of all your conditions; and others; so do not think that anything is hidden from Him; even if it is subtle; let your caution regarding Him be intense; and your vigilance towards Him; and that is the most fitting thing for the beginning of "Al-Ma'idah"; and Allah is the guide to the truth; and to Him is the return and the destination.