An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 12 of 176

An-Nisa 4:12

۞ وَلَكُمْ نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ أَزْوَٰجُكُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهُنَّ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَهُنَّ وَلَدٌ فَلَكُمُ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْنَ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصِينَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۚ وَلَهُنَّ ٱلرُّبُعُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُمْ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّكُمْ وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ وَلَدٌ فَلَهُنَّ ٱلثُّمُنُ مِمَّا تَرَكْتُم ۚ مِّنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ تُوصُونَ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ ۗ وَإِن كَانَ رَجُلٌ يُورَثُ كَلَـٰلَةً أَوِ ٱمْرَأَةٌ وَلَهُۥٓ أَخٌ أَوْ أُخْتٌ فَلِكُلِّ وَٰحِدٍ مِّنْهُمَا ٱلسُّدُسُ ۚ فَإِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَكْثَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ فَهُمْ شُرَكَآءُ فِى ٱلثُّلُثِ ۚ مِنۢ بَعْدِ وَصِيَّةٍ يُوصَىٰ بِهَآ أَوْ دَيْنٍ غَيْرَ مُضَآرٍّ ۚ وَصِيَّةً مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَلِيمٌ

“And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave, after any bequest they [may have] made or debt. And for them [i.e., the wives] is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt. And if a man or woman leaves neither ascendants nor descendants but has a brother or a sister, then for each one of them is a sixth. But if they are more than two, they share a third,[167] after any bequest which was made or debt, as long as there is no detriment [caused].[168] [This is] an ordinance from Allāh, and Allāh is Knowing and Forbearing.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Spouses and side-kin are written into each other's estates, and the ayah closes by naming the One who watches anyone tempted to bend a will.

A reflection

The last word on your wealth is not yours

A retired printer keeps his will in the kitchen drawer beside the takeaway menus. After every family row he takes it out. One Christmas his son is struck out; by Easter he is back in. His daughter-in-law calls the drawer the weather forecast.

Many people imagine a will as the last place the ego still gets to speak. Alive, you could not control everyone. Dead, at last, you can.

This ayah uses the word waṣiyya three times. Twice it is a human bequest, something the dead asked for. The third time it is something else: waṣiyyatan min Allāh, a charge from Allah. The human wishes sit inside His, not above them.

The root pictures joining. Land is called wāṣiya when its plants grow so thick they join into one cover. A waṣiyya is speech that joins: a charge handed on to be carried. Here Allah joins Himself to every estate.

The commentaries notice a choice. The ayah before ends 'an obligation from Allah'; this one ends 'a charge from Allah'. One reading: the softer, more urgent word is used because distant kin are easily forgotten. He presses hardest exactly where human care fades.

Then two names. ʿAlīm: He knows who was just in his will and who was not. Ḥalīm: He does not rush to punish. The commentaries read this pairing as a quiet warning. A classical work on near-synonyms draws the line: all forbearance involves delay, but not every delay is forbearance. His holding back is not forgetting.

This is where pride has to shrink. The man at the drawer treats the money as his to aim. The ayah says it was always held on trust, and the One who gave it decides how it passes on.

Does Allah need to be called Knowing and Forbearing? He needs nothing from anyone (35:15). It is the person holding the pen who needs to hear it, while deciding whom to punish.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.