An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 11 of 176

An-Nisa 4:11

يُوصِيكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِىٓ أَوْلَـٰدِكُمْ ۖ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۚ فَإِن كُنَّ نِسَآءً فَوْقَ ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُنَّ ثُلُثَا مَا تَرَكَ ۖ وَإِن كَانَتْ وَٰحِدَةً فَلَهَا ٱلنِّصْفُ ۚ وَلِأَبَوَيْهِ لِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ مِمَّا تَرَكَ إِن كَانَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ وَلَدٌ وَوَرِثَهُۥٓ أَبَوَاهُ فَلِأُمِّهِ ٱلثُّلُثُ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُۥٓ إِخْوَةٌ فَلِأُمِّهِ ٱلسُّدُسُ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِى بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۗ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ لَا تَدْرُونَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ لَكُمْ نَفْعًا ۚ فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا

“Allāh instructs you concerning your children [i.e., their portions of inheritance]: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate.[164] And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children. But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [and/or sisters], for his mother is a sixth,[165] after any bequest he [may have] made or debt.[166] Your parents or your children - you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allāh. Indeed, Allāh is ever Knowing and Wise.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah Himself takes charge of your children's shares, because you cannot know which relative will truly benefit you; the division is the Wise One's.

A reflection

Instructions about your own children

A grandmother sits in the back of the car beside her sleeping grandson. His fist is curled round her finger. She thinks, with complete certainty, that no one in the world could love this child more than she does.

The ayah opens with words that gently correct that certainty. Yūṣīkumu Allāhu fī awlādikum: Allah charges you concerning your children. Parents, who think they know best about their own children, are given instructions about them.

One classical commentator records a striking inference that some scholars drew from this phrase. If Allah gives parents a charge concerning their own children, then He is more merciful to those children than their parents are. He links it to a scene in Sahih al-Bukhari. A captive mother, separated from her baby, searched frantically among the captives. When she found an infant, she pressed it to her chest and fed it. The Prophet ﷺ asked: would this woman throw her child into a fire? No, they said. He said: Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her child.

The word waṣiyya carries its own picture. The lexicons say its root means joining one thing to another. Land is wāṣiya when its plants grow so thick they join into one cover. A waṣiyya is speech that links you to those who come after you.

This is where pride in our own love shrinks. Our love is real, but it is not the measure. The One who made the child and the parent has a deeper care for both.

When you plan for your children's future, remember who else is planning for them.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.