His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "And test the orphans until they reach marriageable age. If you perceive in them sound judgment, then release to them their properties. And do not consume them excessively and hastily, fearing that they may grow up. And whoever is self-sufficient should abstain, and whoever is poor should eat in moderation. And when you release to them their properties, bring witnesses upon them. And sufficient is Allah as a Reckoner." This is an address to all, and the meaning is to clarify the involvement in this matter for the guardians. The testing is an examination. "Until they reach marriageable age" means: until they reach the level of men with maturity and menstruation or what is equivalent to it. Its meaning is: test their minds, their intellects, and their conduct. And "if you perceive" means: if you know, feel, and experience, as the poet said: "She perceived a news and was alarmed by it, as the evening approached." Ibn Mas'ud read: "Did you perceive" with the letter 'ha' and the 's' being silent, like the form of 'fa'altum'. Abu Abdur-Rahman, Abu Samal, Ibn Mas'ud, and 'Isa Al-Thaqafi read: "sound judgment" with the opening of the 'ra' and 'sheen', and the meaning is the same. Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, sees both conditions: reaching maturity and sound judgment being tested. At that time, the wealth is to be released. Abu Hanifah sees that the wealth should be released with one condition as long as he does not have a debt to safeguard it, just as the allowance for temporary marriage is permitted with one condition. And the Book of Allah has restricted it by the absence of ability and fear of hardship, among other examples, like the oath and the violation for which expiation is obligatory afterward, but it is permissible before the violation. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And the analogy in releasing the wealth with the two conditions is not correct according to me. This is because the verse did not present maturity as part of the condition. However, it is the common state of the children of Adam that their minds align in it. It is the time when the condition of sound judgment is not considered except in it. He said: When that time is reached, let him look to the condition, which is sound judgment at that time. The eloquence of the speech indicates that, because the stipulation with maturity came with "if" and the condition came with "when", which is the basis of conditional particles. And "if" is not a conditional particle for the occurrence of what follows it. Sibawayh permitted its use in poetry, and he said: They did that out of necessity. It was permitted because it requires a response, and because it is followed by an action that is explicit or implied. Al-Khalil argued against its conditionality by the occurrence of what follows it. Do you not see that you say: I will come to you if the dates turn red, and you do not say: If the dates turn red. Al-Hasan and Qatadah said: Sound judgment is in intellect and religion. Ibn Abbas said: Rather, it is in intellect and the management of wealth, nothing else. This is the saying of Ibn Al-Qasim in our school. The other narration is: "That it is in intellect and religion" narrated from Malik. A group said: The guardian releasing the wealth to the one under guardianship requires that he raise it to the sultan and establish his sound judgment before him, or that he be among those whom the judge trusts in such matters. Another group said: That is left to the discretion of the guardian without needing to raise it to the sultan.

The correct view regarding the guardians of our time is that it should not be neglected to raise it to the Sultan and to establish the righteousness before him. This is due to what has been preserved of the collusion of the guardians to ensure that the guardian is guided and that the ward is exonerated for his foolishness and lack of attainment at that time.

And His saying: ﴿And do not consume it﴾... the verse is a prohibition from Allah, the Most High, to the guardians against consuming the wealth of orphans without what is obligatory and permissible for them; and extravagance is excess in action, and waste is error in the places of spending. Among this is the saying of the poet:

................... ∗∗∗.... ∗∗∗ There is no error in their giving.

That is: they do not err in the places of giving. "And hastening": its meaning is: the initiative of their elderliness, meaning: the guardian takes advantage of the wealth of his ward and consumes it, saying: I hasten to his elderliness so that he does not become guided and take his wealth. This was said by Ibn Abbas and others. And "that they grow up" is in the accusative case due to "hastening," and it is permissible that the meaning is: out of fear that.

And His saying: ﴿And whoever is wealthy should abstain﴾... the verse indicates that it is said: the man abstained from something and refrained: if he held back, then he commanded the wealthy to refrain from the wealth of the orphan. And Allah has permitted the poor guardian to eat from his orphan's wealth in a manner that is known.

The scholars differed regarding the limit of what is known. Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ibn Abbas, Ubaidah, Ibn Jubair, al-Shabi, Mujahid, and Abu al-Aliya said: That is a loan, that he borrows from his orphan's wealth and repays when he is able, and he should not borrow more than his need.

Ibn Abbas also said, as did Ikrimah, al-Suddi, and Ata: It was narrated from Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "I have taken from the wealth of Allah the position of the guardian of the orphan. If I am self-sufficient, I will abstain, and if I am in need, I will eat in a known manner, and if I become able, I will repay."

It was narrated from Ibrahim, Ata, and others that there is no repayment upon the poor guardian for what he has eaten in a known manner. Al-Hasan said: It is a morsel from Allah for him, and that is for him to eat what sustains him by the tips of his fingers, and he should not take from it in any way. Ibrahim al-Nakha'i and Makhul said: "He eats what sustains him and wears what covers his nakedness, and he should not wear linen and fine garments."

Ibn Abbas, Abu al-Aliya, al-Hasan, and al-Shabi said: "The guardian only eats in a known manner if he drinks from milk and eats from fruit, in what is sufficient for the grazing and fills the trough and ripens the fruit, and what is similar to it.

And a group said: The known is that he should have a wage commensurate with his work and service.

And al-Hasan ibn Hayy said: If he is a guardian of a father, then he may eat in a known manner, and if he is a guardian of a ruler, then he has no right to the wealth in any way.

Ibn Abbas and al-Nakha'i said: The intended meaning is that the guardian should eat in a known manner from his wealth so that he does not need the wealth of the orphan.

And Rabi'ah ibn Abi Abdur-Rahman said: The intended meaning is the orphans in both cases, meaning: whoever among them is wealthy should be abstained from his wealth, and whoever is poor should be provided for in a known and moderate manner.

And His saying: "So when you have paid..." is a command from Allah to be cautious and resolute. This is the principle in witnessing for all payments, if the withholding of them is initially known. A group said: The witnessing here is obligatory. Another group said: It is recommended for resolution. Umar ibn al-Khattab and Ibn Jubayr narrated that this refers to the payment that the poor guardian should make when he becomes affluent. The wording encompasses this and other matters. The 'hasib' here is the one who accounts, meaning he is sufficient among the witnesses. Thus said al-Tabari. It is more apparent that 'hasiban' means one who accounts for your deeds and rewards you for them. In this is a warning for every denier of truth.