the people of Basra, with the final r in the indicative form, coordinating it with His saying, “No soul is burdened beyond its capacity.” Its underlying form has two consecutive r’s, one of which was assimilated into the other. The other reciters read it with the final r in the accusative form. They said: when one r was assimilated into the other, it was given the lightest vowel, namely the vowel of the accusative.
The meaning of the verse, “Neither mother shall be harmed through her child,” is that the child should not be taken from her and given to another woman after she has agreed to nurse him. “Nor shall a father be harmed through his child”: the woman should not hand the child over to his father after the child has become attached to her, thereby harming him. It was also said that its meaning is: “Neither mother shall be harmed,” by being compelled to nurse the child when she dislikes nursing him, while the child will accept nursing from someone else; for this is not a duty upon her. “Nor shall a father be harmed through his child”: that is, the mother should not be given more than what is due to her when the child will not nurse from anyone else.
According to these two interpretations, the original form of the word is in the passive voice, with the first r bearing the vowel of the accusative, and the mother and the father are the two objects of the verb. It is also possible that the verb is active in relation to both of them, so that it means that each harms the other, with the first r bearing the vowel of the genitive and with an expressed grammatical subject. Thus, “Neither mother shall be harmed” means that she refuses to nurse her child in order to make things difficult for his father. And “nor shall a father be harmed” means that the father must not harm the child’s mother by taking the child away from her and preventing her from nursing him.
According to these interpretations, the harm pertains to ⦗39/A⦘ the two parents: each of them must not harm the other on account of the child. It is also possible that the harm pertains to the child himself: neither of them should harm the child. Thus, the mother must not refuse to nurse him until he dies, nor should the father withhold maintenance or take him from his mother in a manner that harms the child. On this interpretation, the preposition is expletive, and the meaning is: “Neither mother nor father shall be harmed through their child.” All these views have been reported from the exegetes.
As for His saying, “And the heir bears the same responsibility,” they differed concerning this heir. Some said that he is the child’s heir. Its meaning is that the heir of the child—one who would inherit from him if the child died leaving property—bears the same duty that was incumbent upon the child’s father during his lifetime. They then differed as to which of the child’s heirs is intended. Some said that it means the child’s male agnatic heirs, such as his grandfather, brother, brother’s son, paternal uncle, and paternal uncle’s son. This was the view of ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, and it was also held by Ibrāhīm, al-Ḥasan, Mujāhid, and ‘Aṭā’; it is also the school of Sufyān. They said: if the child has no property from which he may be maintained, his agnatic heirs who would inherit from him are compelled to arrange for him to be nursed.
It was also said that it means every heir of the child, whether male or female. This was the view of Qatādah and Ibn Abī Laylā, and the school of Aḥmad and Isḥāq. They said: every heir, whether an agnatic heir or otherwise, is compelled to provide for him in proportion to his share of inheritance.
Some said that it means whichever of the child’s heirs is an unmarriageable blood relative. Thus, one who is not an unmarriageable relative, such as a paternal cousin or a manumitting patron, is not intended by the verse. This was the view of Abū Ḥanīfah, may Allah have mercy on him. A group held that the heir intended is the child himself, as the heir of his deceased father: the wages for his nursing, his maintenance, and his clothing are to come from his own property. If he has no property, then they are due from the mother; and no one other than the two parents may be compelled to provide for the child. This was the view of Mālik and al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy on them both.
It was also said that the intended heir is the surviving parent of the child after the death of the other; upon that parent rests the same obligation that rested upon the father with respect to nursing wages, maintenance, and clothing.
It was further said that maintenance is not what is intended; rather, its meaning is that the heir must refrain from causing harm. This was the view of al-Shaʿbī and al-Zuhrī. “If the two wish”—meaning the two parents—“to wean the child,” that is, to wean him before the completion of two years, “by mutual consent of them both,” that is, by agreement of the two parents.