'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' Allah, the Exalted, says: "Call them by their fathers; that is more just in the sight of Allah. But if you do not know their fathers, then they are your brothers in faith and your allies. And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred, but only in what your hearts intended. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful." "The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers. And those of blood relations are closer to one another in the Book of Allah than the believers and the emigrants, except for what you do to your friends. That is in the Book inscribed." Allah, the Exalted, commanded in this verse to call the adopted ones by their fathers, so whoever is unknown in this regard is a protector and a brother in faith. The people said: Zayd ibn Harithah, and Salim, the freedman of Abu Hudhayfah, and others. Al-Tabari mentioned that Abu Bakrah recited this verse and then said: I am among those whose father is unknown, so I am your brother in faith and your protector. The narrator said about him: If he had known, by Allah, that his father was a donkey, he would have claimed him. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The narrators of the hadith say about Abu Bakrah: Nufay' ibn al-Harith. And "more just" means "more fair." Qatadah said: "It has reached us that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Whoever claims to belong to someone other than his father intentionally, Allah has forbidden Paradise for him.'" And His saying, the Exalted: "And there is no blame upon you" is a removal of the burden from whoever thought, forgot, or erred, and it follows the custom of attributing Zayd to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and other similar cases. And the blame remains in the intentional act with the condition or the prescribed punishment. And His saying, the Exalted: "And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful" means: for what has passed of their actions in that. Then these are two attributes of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, that are applied in everything. And a group said: Their error in what has preceded from their saying that. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is weak; that cannot be described as an error except after the prohibition. Rather, the error here means forgetfulness, and what is opposite to intention. Al-Tabari reported from Qatadah that he said: The error for which Allah has lifted the burden is to believe that someone is the son of so-and-so and attribute him to him, while in reality he is not his son. And intention is to attribute him to so-and-so while you know that he is the son of another. The error is lifted from this nation, and its punishment has been removed. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The error, forgetfulness, and what they are compelled to do has been lifted from my nation." And he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "What I fear for you is not error, rather I fear intention."

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "The Prophet is closer to the believers than themselves". With this, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, removed rulings that were in the early days of Islam. Among them is that "the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, would not pray over a deceased upon whom there is a debt." So Allah, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned that he is closer to the believers than themselves. This means that a believer must love the Prophet more than himself, according to the hadith of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. It is obligatory for him to obey his commands, whether his soul loves that or dislikes it. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said when this verse was revealed: "I am closer to the believers than themselves. Whoever leaves wealth, it is for his heirs, and whoever leaves a debt or a lost property, it is upon me. I am their guardian. Read if you wish: 'The Prophet is closer to the believers than themselves.'" Some of the knowledgeable scholars said: He is closer to them than themselves because their souls call them to destruction, while he calls them to salvation.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is supported by his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "I am taking hold of your reins from the fire while you are plunging into it like the plunge of a moth."

And Allah, glorified and exalted is He, honored the wives of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, by making them the mothers of the believers: in the sanctity of marriage and in the act of kindness. He distinguished them, may Allah be pleased with them, from other mothers. Masruq said: A woman said to Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: O mother! She replied: I am not your mother; I am the mother of your men. And in the Mus'haf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "And his wives are their mothers, and he is a father to them." Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, read: "Than themselves, and he is a father to them, and his wives are their mothers." Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, heard this recitation and rejected it. It was said to him: It is in the Mus'haf of Ubayy. He asked him, and Ubayy confirmed it and was stern with Umar. It has been said regarding the saying of Lot, peace be upon him: "These are my daughters": He meant the believing women, meaning: marry them.

Then it was ruled that those with close kinship have more right than what the Shari'ah had established regarding inheritance through brotherhood of Islam and migration. For there was in Medina inheritance in the early days of Islam through these two means. The narration differed regarding its description, and there is no ruling for its knowledge now, so it was summarized. And Allah returned the inheritances to the correct lineages.

And His saying: "In the Book of Allah" may mean the Qur'an, and it may mean the Preserved Tablet. And His saying: "Of the believers" is related to the second "closer". And this brotherhood and migration that we mentioned.

'And His saying, exalted is He: "Except that you do good to your guardians" means doing good in life, maintaining ties, and making bequests at the time of death. This was said by Qatadah, Al-Hasan, 'Ata, and Ibn Al-Hanifah. All of this is permissible to be done with the guardian according to his categories. The disbelieving relative can be bequeathed a bequest. The scholars differed on whether he can be made a guardian. Some permitted it, while others prohibited it, and some referred the matter back to the ruler, among them Malik ibn Anas, may Allah be pleased with him. Mujahid, Ibn Zayd, Al-Rummani, and others went to the meaning: "to your guardians from the believers." The wording of the verse supports this opinion, and the generalization of the term "guardian" is also good as we have mentioned; for the guardianship of lineage does not prevent the disbeliever. Rather, it prevents him from being met with affection like the guardian of Islam. The scripture that recorded this allows for both interpretations we mentioned. And "recorded" from your saying: "I recorded the book" if you established it in lines. From it is the saying of Al-Ajaj: In the first pages that I recorded. Qatadah said: And in some readings: "That was written with Allah."