(p-474) His saying - Exalted and Majestic -: ﴿Certainly, those who killed their children foolishly without knowledge and prohibited what Allah has provided for them, inventing lies against Allah, have certainly gone astray, and they were not guided﴾ ﴿And He is the One who created gardens with trellises and without trellises, and the date palms and crops of different shape and taste, and the olive and the pomegranate, similar and dissimilar. Eat of their fruit when they ripen, and give its due on the day of its harvest, and do not waste, for He does not love the wasteful﴾. This wording includes a condemnation of their ugly actions and amazement at their bad state in burying their daughters and withholding livestock and crops. Ikrimah said: The practice of burying daughters was among the Rabi'ah and Mudar. Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The majority of the Arabs did not do it; then among those who did, some acted out of fear of poverty and scarcity, and some did it out of jealousy, fearing for their sons. Ibn 'Amir and Ibn Kathir read:

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is an objection that the surah is Meccan; and this verse, according to the majority, is not excluded; and Al-Zajjaj reported that it was said regarding this verse: that it was revealed in Medina; and it is also objected that there is no zakah in what has been mentioned of the pomegranates; and all that is in its meaning.

And Ibn al-Hanifah also said; and Ata; and Mujahid; and others from the people of knowledge: Rather, His saying, the Exalted, ﴿And give its due﴾; is an encouragement to give rights from wealth; other than zakah; and the Sunnah is that a man should give from his harvest at the time of harvesting; and at the time of gathering; and at the time of stacking it in the threshing floor; so when he has sorted it out; and measured it; he takes out from that the zakah; and Al-Rabi' ibn Anas said: Its right is the permissibility of picking the ears of grain; and a group said: This was the ruling of the charities of the Muslims; until the obligatory zakah was revealed; and it abrogated it; and this was narrated from Ibn Abbas; and Ibn al-Hanifah; and Ibrahim; and Al-Hasan; and Al-Suddi said in this surah: (p-476) Meccan; it was abrogated by zakah; so Sufyan asked him: From whom? He said: From the scholars.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And abrogation is not applicable in this verse; because this verse; and the verse of zakah; do not [contradict each other]; rather, this is based on encouragement; and that one is based on obligation.

And Ibn Kathir; and Nafi; and Hamzah; and Al-Kisai read: "his harvest"; and Asim; and Abu Amr; and Ibn Amer read: "harvest"; with the opening of the ha; and they are two dialects in the source.

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿And do not waste﴾; the verse; whoever said that the verse is regarding the obligatory zakah; made this prohibition against waste; either for the people regarding their reluctance to perform it; because that is waste of action; and this was said by Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib; or for the rulers regarding being excessive towards the people; and causing them harm; for that is waste of action; and this was said by Ibn Zayd; and whoever made the verse regarding encouragement towards rights other than zakah; the prohibition against waste is applicable to those rights; due to the injustice to wealth; and its squandering.

It has been narrated that the verse was revealed because Thabit ibn Qays ibn Shammas harvested a crop of his; and he said: "By Allah, no one will come to me today except that I will feed him"; so he spent the night without any fruit; and this verse was revealed; and Abu al-Aliya said: They used to give something at the time of harvesting; then they competed; and wasted; so the verse was revealed; and whoever said that it is abrogated; the prohibition is applicable at the time of the ruling of the verse.