And test the orphans and examine their minds and taste their conditions. [Mahamud said: "Its meaning is to test their conditions... etc."] Ahmad said: Testing in this manner is the view of Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, except that it is not done with him until after reaching maturity, and nothing from his wealth is given to him before that. This is also one of the opinions of Shafi'i, may Allah be pleased with him, while his other opinion is like the view of Abu Hanifa. However, there is a disagreement about its form before maturity in two ways: one is that the wealth is entrusted to him and he conducts contracts himself like an adult, and the other is that his duty is to negotiate, and if the matter reaches a contract, the guardian conducts it on his behalf and the minor hands over the price. As for maturity, what is considered by Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, is that he safeguards his wealth and increases it, even if he is sinful in his state. According to Shafi'i, what is considered is the righteousness of both religion and wealth. Our aim now is to clarify the basis of Malik's view regarding this verse, and Allah is the one sought for help. As for his prohibition of giving before maturity—although the apparent meaning of the verse suggests giving before it—because he made maturity and the recognition of maturity the limit for giving, and the limit is necessarily after the limited thing, it is necessary for the giving to occur before. For this reason, Abu Hanifa affirmed it before maturity, and Allah knows best. Thus, if the combination of maturity and recognition of maturity is the limit, then it necessitates that the testing occurs before both of them, meaning the combination, even if it occurs after one of them, which is maturity, because the combination of two or more cannot be realized without the existence of each of its components. This clarification is supported by the fact that if you said: 'And test the orphans after maturity, until when the two matters come together and maturity and recognition are fulfilled, then give them their wealth,' the statement would be correct, and maturity would be before the testing, even if the testing is limited by the two matters occurring before their combination. A similar reasoning supports Abu Hanifa's view in his statement that the waiting period of the husband is only considered in the duration of the oath, not after it, and it is related to His saying: (For those who take an oath from their wives, a waiting period of four months; then if they return, then indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful). He renewed a covenant with it, which clarifies the correspondence of the two views, and Allah knows best. As for his limiting, may Allah be pleased with him, recognition to wealth, if the one under guardianship is in a sinful state, the way to extract it from the verse is that he linked the recognition of maturity to the testing by giving wealth to them to observe their behavior in it. If the intention were only to rectify the religion, the testing would not depend on giving wealth to them, as it is apparent from the one who rectifies his religion that his state does not differ in the absence or abundance of it. If the intention were to rectify both religion and wealth— as Shafi'i, may Allah be pleased with him, says—then the rectification of religion would not be contingent upon testing with wealth as mentioned earlier. Furthermore, maturity in both religion and wealth is the ultimate goal of maturity, and combining them is not a condition. The indefinite article for maturity in the verse rejects that, as it is apparent: 'If you recognize from them maturity, then hasten to hand over their wealth to them without waiting for the limit of maturity,' and Allah knows best. And their knowledge of behavior before maturity, so that when you ascertain maturity from them—meaning guidance—you give them their wealth without delay beyond the limit of maturity. And the maturity of marriage is to reach puberty, for he is suitable for marriage at that point, and for seeking what is intended by it, which is procreation and reproduction. And 'recognition' means clarification, so it is borrowed for elucidation. There is a difference in understanding testing and maturity. Testing, according to Abu Hanifa and his companions, is to give him what he can manage until his state becomes clear regarding what comes from him. Maturity is guidance to the ways of management. And according to Ibn Abbas: righteousness in mind and safeguarding wealth. And according to Malik and Shafi'i: testing is to follow his conditions and his behavior in receiving and giving, and to discern his inclinations and tendencies towards religion. Maturity is righteousness in religion, for sinfulness corrupts wealth. If you say: What if no maturity is recognized from him until the point of maturity? I say:

According to Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, he waits until twenty-five years, because the age of maturity for a male according to him is eighteen years. If seven years are added to it, this is a considerable duration for the change of a person's conditions, due to his saying, blessings and peace be upon him, "Command them to pray at seven." [Reported by Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Khuzaymah, and Al-Hakim from the narration of Abdul Malik ibn Al-Rabi' ibn Subwah Al-Juhani from his father from his grandfather, raised to the Prophet, "Command your children to pray when they are seven years old." And it was narrated by Abu Dawood and Al-Hakim through the route of Suwar ibn Dawood from Amr ibn Shu'aib from his father from his grandfather, and Al-Aqili criticized it in Al-Du'afa regarding Suwar. And Al-Bazzar narrated it from the narration of Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan ibn Atiyyah from Muhammad ibn Abdul Rahman, and Al-Aqili criticized it regarding Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan and said: The best narration is that of the one who narrated it from Muhammad ibn Abdul Rahman as a disconnected narration. Ibn Hibban mentioned it in Al-Du'afa from Abdul Mun'im ibn Nuaim Al-Riyahi from Al-A'mash from Abu Salih from Abu Hurairah. And Al-Daraqutni narrated it in Al-Awsat from the hadith of Anas, and in it is Dawood ibn Al-Mujir, who is abandoned.] He is given his money if he is deemed to be mature or not. And according to his companions: He is never given his money except with the indication of maturity. If you say: What is the meaning of the indefiniteness of maturity? I say: It means a type of maturity, which is maturity in conduct and trade, or a part of maturity and an indication of its signs, so that one does not wait for the completion of maturity. If you say: How is this speech organized? [[Mahamood, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "What is the way of organizing the speech that occurs after until to the saying 'So give them their money...' etc.?" Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: He intends by this estimation to apply the school of Abu Hanifa in the precedence of the trial over maturity according to the verse. We have previously explained the way of applying the school of Malik to it in the clearest and closest manner. The result is that the implication of looking at the totality as it is, and the implication of the school of Abu Hanifa is to look at the individuals. The apparent consideration is for the totality, as the conjunction with 'fa' necessitates it, and Allah knows best.]] I say: What comes after (حَتَّى) to (فَادْفَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوالَهُمْ) is made a limit for the trial, and it is "until" which occurs after it the sentences, like that in the saying:

فَمَا زَالَتِ الْقَتْلَى تَمُجُّ دِمَاءَهَا ... بِدِجْلَةَ حَتَّي مَاءُ دِجْلَهَ أشْكَلُ [[By Al-Jarir, he says: So the slain continued to spew their blood on the banks of the Tigris. And 'until': is an initial word that occurs after it sentences, and it does not lack the meaning of the limit. And 'أشكل': is the news of the subject, which is the white mixed with redness. And it is more apparent in the place of omission due to the restriction of exaggeration and glorification. That is, until the water of that great river is mixed with redness.]]

And the sentence that occurs after it is a conditional sentence because 'if' implies the meaning of the condition, and the condition's action is reaching maturity. And His saying: (فَإِنْ آنَسْتُمْ مِنْهُمْ رُشْداً فَادْفَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ أَمْوالَهُمْ) is a sentence of condition and consequence, occurring as a response to the first condition which is if they reach maturity. It is as if it is said: And test the orphans until the time of their maturity, so their entitlement to the giving of their money to them is conditioned upon the indication of maturity from them. Ibn Mas'ud read: 'If you perceive from them maturity' meaning 'if you feel it.' He said:

أحَسْنَ بِهِ فَهُنَّ إلَيْه شُوسُ [[So they spent the night traveling and he traveled at night... aware in the darkness, a guide strong

Until they camped and distanced themselves from him... soon there is nothing that touches him

Except that the she-camels from the mounts... are better with him, for they are to him swift.

By Abu Zubaid Al-Ta'i. And 'الإدلاج': is the travel at the beginning of the night. And 'التدليج': is the travel at the end of it. And 'السرى': is the travel of the night. And 'بصير': is an adjective for an omitted subject. And 'بالدجى': is related to it. And 'البصير': is the one who is insightful or perceptive, or the one who sees, so the 'ب' means 'in.' And 'الدجى' is darkness. And 'الهادي': refers to the guided one. And 'العموس': is the strong and mighty. And 'عرسوا': means they settled. And 'الحت': is the plucking, tearing, cutting, and speed.

'فانحت': means they distanced themselves from him quickly, or hurried close to him without making a sound, meaning no sound of touching the ground while walking. And 'العتاق': are the she-camels or the old ones. And 'أحسن': its origin is 'أحسسن', the opening of the 'س' was transferred to the 'ح' and then omitted.

Husayn. In language: Husayn, with a broken 's'. Its root is hasan, the second 's' was changed to a vowel letter. The addition of 'ba' after the verb 'has' is common even if it is transitive by itself. And 'al-shaws' is the plural of 'ashwas', or 'shawsaa', which refers to one who looks with the back of his eye, describing travelers while the lion seeks prey from them. Often, they omit the described, like the lion here, because the description indicates it, or to claim it indicates it.

And it was recited: 'rushdan', with two fathas. And 'rushdan', with two dhumas, 'israfan' and 'bidaaran', as those who are extravagant and hasty in their greatness, or for your extravagance and your hastiness in their greatness, you exceed in spending it, and you say, 'We will spend as we desire before the orphans grow up and take it from our hands.' Then the matter was divided between whether the guardian is rich or poor. The rich refrains from consuming it and does not covet, and is content with what Allah has provided him from wealth, out of compassion for the orphan, and preserving his wealth. The poor eats a measured sustenance, being cautious in estimating it in a manner of wages, or borrowing, with the differences in that. And the term 'eating' in a known manner and refraining indicates that the guardian has a right for his care over it. And from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: A man said to him: 'I have an orphan in my care, may I eat from his wealth?' He said: 'In a known manner, not seeking to acquire wealth, nor taking your wealth with his.' He said: 'Should I strike him?' He said: 'What you would strike your own child with.' This was narrated by al-Thalabi from the path of Muawiya ibn Hisham. Al-Thawri narrated from Ibn Abi Najih from al-Hasan al-Arani from Ibn Abbas who said: 'A man came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'I have an orphan in my care.' The wording is the same as the compiler's, and it was narrated by Abdul Razzaq in al-Musannaf and Ibn Mubarak in al-Birr wa al-Silah and al-Tabari from Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah from Ibn Dinar from al-Hasan al-Arani. 'A man said: 'O Messenger of Allah...' and he mentioned it as a marfu' narration, and it is in Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Buyu' from Ismail from Ayyub ibn 'Amr likewise. Ahmad, Abu Dawood, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and others narrated from the narration of 'Amr ibn Shu'aib from his father from his grandfather: 'A man came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'I find nothing and I have no wealth. And I have an orphan who has wealth.' He said: 'Eat from your orphan's wealth, but do not be extravagant nor seek to acquire wealth, nor take your wealth with his.' And Ibn Hibban narrated from the narration of Salih ibn Rustam from 'Amr ibn Dinar from Jabir who said: A man said to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'From what should I strike my orphan?' He said: 'What you would strike your own child with, not taking your wealth with his, nor seeking to acquire wealth from his wealth.' And Ibn 'Adi narrated it in al-Kamil in the biography of Salih ibn Rustam. He is Abu 'Amir al-Khazan, and Ibn Ma'in weakened him. He said: 'I did not find for him a rejected hadith.' And Abu Nu'aym narrated it in al-Hilya in the biography of 'Amr ibn Dinar.

He said: The narrators have reported it uniquely, and he is among the trustworthy of the Basrians. And from Ibn Abbas: The guardian of the orphan said to him: Should I drink from its milk? He said: If you seek its lost one, and you water its trough, and you feed its young ones. The saying "and you water its trough and you feed its young ones" means you prepare it with mud by sticking it to it. This was clarified in the dictionaries. In it: I fed the camel when I sought it with well-being, which is the tar. And Al-Manawi quoted in the margin from Al-Zajjaj that it is with a dammed noon, and that there has not come a dammed 'ayn in a hamzated 'lam except for 'hanna' and 'yahnna' and he read 'yukra' so it should be clarified. And he should water it on the day it is brought, so drink without harming the offspring, nor being excessive in milking. This was narrated by Abdul Razzaq from the narration of Yahya ibn Sa'id from Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad. He said: A man came to Ibn Abbas and mentioned it, except that he said instead of seeking its lost one "return its lost one" and Al-Tabari narrated it through his chain, and Al-Thalabi and Al-Wahidi from another route from Al-Qasim. And Al-Baghawi narrated it through the way of Malik from Yahya ibn Sa'id from Al-Qasim and it is in Al-Muwatta. And from him: He strikes with his hand with their hands, so let him eat in a good manner, and he should not wear a turban or anything above it. And from Ibrahim: He should not wear linen or fine garments, but what suffices for hunger and covers his nakedness. And from Muhammad ibn Ka'b: He eats like the animal eats. The saying: "He eats like the animal eats" in the dictionaries: The child and the beast eat weakly at first when they begin to eat. And he should place himself in the position of a hired worker in what is necessary. And from Al-Sha'bi: He eats from his wealth as much as he needs. And from him: Like the dead meat, he consumes it in necessity and fulfills it. And from Mujahid: He borrows, and if he becomes wealthy, he repays. And from Sa'id ibn Jubair: If he wishes, he drinks the excess milk, rides the back, wears what covers him from clothing, and takes the sustenance and does not exceed it. If he becomes wealthy, he repays it, and if he is in hardship, he is free from obligation. And from Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him: I have placed myself from the wealth of Allah in the position of the guardian of the orphan. If I am self-sufficient, I abstain, and if I am in need, I eat in a good manner, and if I am made wealthy, I repay. This was narrated by Ibn Sa'ad and Ibn Abi Shaybah and Al-Tabari from the narration of Israel and Sufyan, both from Abu Ishaq from Harithah ibn Mudrib who said: Umar said, and it was narrated by Sa'id ibn Mansur from Abu Al-Hawwas from Abu Ishaq from Al-Bara who said: Umar said to me. And abstaining is more than being chaste. Mahmoud said: "Abstaining is more than being chaste, as if he seeks an increase in chastity from himself." Ahmad said: In this is an indication that the one who seeks is in the meaning of request, and it is not so, for the seeking is transitive and this is limited. The apparent meaning is that it has come in both forms with the same meaning, and Allah knows best. As if he is seeking an increase in chastity. So bear witness against them that they have received it and taken it, and your obligations are cleared from it. This is further from disputing and denial and more included in trust and clearing of responsibility. Do you not see that if he does not bear witness and claims against him, he is truthful with an oath according to Abu Hanifa and his companions? And according to Malik and Al-Shafi'i, he is not believed except with evidence. Thus, in the witnessing is a safeguard from the direction of an oath leading to suspicion or from the necessity of guarantee if evidence is not established. And Allah is sufficient as a Reckoner, meaning sufficient in testifying against you regarding the payment and receipt, or as an accountant. So you should be truthful with each other, and beware of lying.