An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 176 of 176

An-Nisa 4:176

يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِى ٱلْكَلَـٰلَةِ ۚ إِنِ ٱمْرُؤٌا۟ هَلَكَ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌ وَلَهُۥٓ أُخْتٌ فَلَهَا نِصْفُ مَا تَرَكَ ۚ وَهُوَ يَرِثُهَآ إِن لَّمْ يَكُن لَّهَا وَلَدٌ ۚ فَإِن كَانَتَا ٱثْنَتَيْنِ فَلَهُمَا ٱلثُّلُثَانِ مِمَّا تَرَكَ ۚ وَإِن كَانُوٓا۟ إِخْوَةً رِّجَالًا وَنِسَآءً فَلِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ ٱلْأُنثَيَيْنِ ۗ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ أَن تَضِلُّوا۟ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۢ

“They request from you a [legal] ruling. Say, "Allāh gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants [as heirs]." If a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left. And he inherits from her if she [dies and] has no child. But if there are two sisters [or more], they will have two thirds of what he left. If there are both brothers and sisters, the male will have the share of two females.[238] Allāh makes clear to you [His law], lest you go astray. And Allāh is Knowing of all things.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The surah closes as it opened, on family: Allah answers a worried question about siblings, making it plain so no one goes astray.

A reflection

Power in the first ayah, knowledge in the last

The surah's final words are wa-Allāhu bi-kulli shayʾin ʿalīm: and Allah has full knowledge of everything.

One classical theologian, finishing his commentary on this surah, points out what he calls a wonderful subtlety. The surah opens with Allah's complete power: 'O mankind, be mindful of your Lord, who created you from a single soul' (4:1). It closes with His complete knowledge. Power and knowledge, he says, are the two qualities on which lordship rests. Because of them, a servant owes obedience to every command.

Notice where that knowledge is placed. Not after a description of the stars, but after the shares of a sister and a brother. One classical commentator explains: He knows the outcomes of every matter and where the good lies. He knows what each relative deserves by their closeness to the one who died.

That is majesty, and it is aimed at a particular kind of ego: the one that sits in judgement over a family. Every human arbiter sees a family through a keyhole. A will, a bank statement, a few loud voices in a kitchen. He sees the sister who nursed in silence and the brother who borrowed and never said. He sees the promise made at a hospital bed, and the forty years no document records.

Why would He end with His own knowledge? Is it a demand for admiration? The ayah answers in its own clause: yubayyinu Allāhu lakum, Allah makes it clear for you. The knowledge is mentioned so you can trust the division. A rule from someone who sees everything is a rule you can rest on.

So when your family must divide something, of any kind, start humbly. Say: Allah knows this family better than any of us does.

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.