(The orphans) are those whose fathers have died, so they are separated from them. And orphanhood is separation. From it: the orphaned sand and the orphaned pearl. It is said: orphanhood in humans is from the fathers, and in animals from the mothers. If you say: how is the word orphan (yateem) pluralized to orphans (yateemaa)? I say: there are two ways: it can be pluralized as yatimā like asrā, because orphanhood is from the valley of afflictions and pains, then the plural of fa'īl is made into fa'āl like asrā. And it is permissible to pluralize it as yafā'il for the word orphan follows the pattern of names, like sāhib and fāris, so it is said: yatā'im, then yatāmā by analogy. This name is rightly applied to the young. [Mahrūm said: 'Either the orphans refer to the young... etc.' Ahmad said: 'The first view is strengthened by His saying after the verses (And test the orphans until they reach marriageable age; then if you perceive in them sound judgment, release to them their properties) which indicates that the first verse is about encouraging the preservation of their wealth to be given to them upon reaching maturity and sound judgment, and the second is about the actual giving when maturity and sound judgment are attained. And also, His saying following the first (And do not exchange the bad for the good), (And do not consume their wealth into your own) — all of this is guidance for the guardian as long as the wealth is in his hands and the orphan is under his care. As for the other view, the meaning of the two verses is the same, which is the command to give in reality, and it is freed from repetition because the first is like the second sentence as an explanation of the condition of giving, which is maturity and the perception of sound judgment, and Allah knows best.] And the older ones remain in meaning of separation from the fathers, but it has become common to call them this before they reach the age of men. When they become self-sufficient and no longer need a caretaker, and they become capable of taking care of others and standing by them, this name is removed from them. The Quraysh used to say to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: the orphan of Abu Talib, either by analogy or as a reference to the state he was in as a child growing up in the care of his uncle to clarify for him. As for his saying, peace be upon him, 'There is no orphanhood after maturity' [Reported by Abu Dawood from Ali, and its chain is good because it has another route from Ali reported by Abdul Razzaq also from Al-Thawri from Juwaybir as a stop. Al-Aqili approved it and Juwaybir was followed by Abdul Karim bin Abi Al-Mukhariq from Al-Dhahhak. And Abdul Karim is abandoned as well, and there is another route in Al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat in the biography of Muhammad bin Suleiman Al-Sufi from the narration of Al-Alaqma bin Qais from Ali. And it was narrated by Abu Ya'la and Al-Tabarani from the narration of Dhiyal bin Ubaid bin Hanzalah bin Jadhimah bin Hanifah. I heard my grandfather Hanzalah say I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say. So he mentioned it, and there is in the chapter from Anas at Al-Bazzar and in it is Marthad bin Abdul Malik who is weak. And from Jabir at Abdul Razzaq and Al-Tayalisi and Ibn Ya'la from the narration of Harām bin Uthman who is abandoned. And from the route of Said bin Al-Marzaban from Yazid Al-Faqir from Jabir. And Said is very weak.] What it means is nothing but teaching a law, not a language, meaning that if he reaches puberty, the rulings of childhood do not apply to him. If you say: what is the meaning of His saying, 'And give the orphans their properties'? I say: either it refers to the young, and by giving them their wealth: that the guardians and trustees and the corrupt rulers and their judges do not covet it and keep their greedy hands off it, until the orphans receive it when they reach maturity, safe and intact. Or it refers to the older ones being called orphans by analogy, or due to their recent past — when they reach maturity — of childhood, just as a she-camel is called 'jath' after giving birth. It indicates that their wealth should not be delayed in being given to them beyond the limit of maturity, nor should it be withheld if sound judgment is perceived from them, and that it should be given to them before the name of orphans and children is removed from them. And it is said:

It is about a man from Ghatafan who had a lot of wealth for his orphan nephew. When the nephew reached maturity, he requested the money, but his uncle denied him. They referred the matter to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. [[Al-Thalabi mentioned this from Muqatil and Al-Kalbi. Their chain is mentioned at the beginning of the book.]] Then this verse was revealed. When the uncle heard it, he said: 'We have obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger. We seek refuge with Allah from the great sin.' So he gave the money to him. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul and obeys his Lord like this, then his abode will be made lawful.' He meant his Paradise. When he received it, they found that he spent his wealth in the way of Allah. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'The reward is established, the reward is established, and the burden remains.' They said: 'O Messenger of Allah, we know that the reward is established; how does the burden remain while he spends in the way of Allah?' He said: 'The reward of the boy is established, and the burden remains on his father. And do not exchange the evil for the good, nor exchange the unlawful, which is the wealth of orphans, for the lawful, which is your wealth and what is permitted for you from earnings and the provision of Allah spread across the earth, so that you may eat it in place of it. Or do not exchange the evil matter, which is the misappropriation of the wealth of orphans, for the good matter, which is preserving it and being cautious with it. [[The phrase 'and being cautious with it' may refer to 'from it.' (A)]] The verb form here, meaning to act, is not uncommon; for instance, 'to hasten' means to rush, and 'to delay' means to postpone. Dhul-Rumma said:

'O the generosity of the inhabitants who have endured... From the house and the successor who has been replaced.' [[This is from Dhul-Rumma. The term 'inhabitants' refers to the residents of the house, and it is a collective noun for a resident, like 'caravan' for a traveler, and 'companions' for a companion. In addressing their generosity, there is a sense of wonder at its abundance, meaning: O generosity of the owners of the house who have departed from it, and O meanness of the successor who has been replaced, in the form of a passive participle in both cases, meaning what you have succeeded them with and what you have replaced after them with wild beasts. It is said that it refers to those who do not fulfill their promises, so 'replacement' means 'substitution.' The term 'successor' implies an addition indicated by the context.]]

He meant: And how vile is what the house has bequeathed and what it has replaced. It is said: It is to be given something bad and to take something good. And from Al-Suddi: It is to replace a lean sheep with a fat one. This is not a replacement, but rather a substitution unless he honors a friend of his by taking from him a lean one in place of a fat one from the wealth of the orphan. And do not consume their wealth into your wealth, nor spend it along with it. Its reality is: And do not combine it with your wealth. [Mahamud said: 'Its meaning is do not combine it with your wealth... etc.': Ahmad said: And the people of rhetoric say that the prohibited, whenever it has degrees, the way of eloquence is to prohibit the least of it as a warning about the higher, like His saying: 'So do not say to them a word of disrespect.' And if you consider this principle with this verse, you will find it initially opposing it, as the highest degree of consuming the wealth of the orphan in prohibition is to consume it while being wealthy, and the least is to consume it while being in need of it. Thus, the implication of the mentioned principle would be to prohibit the consumption of the wealth of the orphan by one who is in need of it, until the prohibition of the wealthy from it is necessitated by priority. Therefore, there must be a clarification of the benefit of specifying the higher form of prohibition in this verse. We say: The most eloquent speech is that which has multiple ways of conveying its meaning. And there is no doubt that the prohibition of the lesser form implies the prohibition of the higher, but the prohibition of the higher also has another great benefit that is not derived from the prohibition of the lesser. That is, the more repugnant the prohibited is, the more the soul is repelled from it and the further the call to it is. And there is no doubt that it is established in souls that consuming the wealth of the orphan while being wealthy is the most repugnant form of consumption. Therefore, it is specified in the prohibition as a condemnation of those who fall into it, so that when the aversion to consuming his wealth in this repugnant manner is firmly established, it leads him to refrain from consuming his wealth altogether. In it is training for the addressee to recoil from the prohibited. This benefit is hardly achieved if the prohibition is specified to consuming it while in need, as the nature in this case does not assist in avoidance as it does in the first case. The consideration of this meaning is confirmed by specifying the consumption, even though taking the wealth of the orphan in any manner is prohibited, whether by hoarding, mingling, or spending it on the pleasures of marriage, for example, or otherwise. However, the wisdom of specifying the prohibition to consumption is that the Arabs used to disdain excessive eating and considered gluttony as a beastly trait, and they criticized those who made it their habit. This is not the case with other pleasures, as they might boast of excessive marriage and consider it an adornment of this world. Therefore, since eating was the most repugnant of pleasures to them, the prohibition was specified to it, so that when the soul recoils from it by its accustomed nature, it leads to a recoil from spending the wealth of the orphan on other pleasures or otherwise, whether in consumption or not. An example of this verse in specifying the prohibition to what is higher is His saying: 'Do not consume usury, multiplying it many times.' This form is specified because the nature to refrain from it is more helpful. This perspective in prohibition has another perspective in command, as sometimes it specifies the lower form of command as a warning about the higher, and sometimes it specifies the higher form for a similar benefit of training. Do you not see His saying after verses from this surah: 'And when the division comes, let the relatives and orphans and the needy be present, then provide for them...' How it specifies their presence, even though it is higher in relation to their absence. This is because Allah, the Exalted, knows the stinginess of souls regarding wealth. If He commanded to assist the relatives and orphans from the inherited wealth without mentioning their presence during the division, the souls would not be as inclined to this known good as they would be with their presence. In contrast, when they are present, the nature softens and recoils from taking the abundant wealth while the relative is present, deprived, and not assisted. Thus, when commanded to assist in this situation, it becomes easier for them to comply with the command and to become accustomed to complying with their nature. Then they are trained to assist the relative whether present or absent. The consideration of this and similar benefits is hardly found except in the Noble Book, and it is only discovered by the perceptive, intelligent one aided by divine success. We ask Allah to guide us in this manner. Take this principle as a foundation: if the prohibition specifies the lesser, it is for the benefit of warning about the higher, and if it specifies the higher, it is for the benefit of training to refrain from all evils, starting with refraining from the most repugnant. This perspective is similar in the aspect of command, and Allah is the Guide.