false. Then two others from the deceased’s heirs shall take their place—that is, the place of the two executors. “From among those against whom a sin was incurred”: this is the reading of the majority, with the tā’ read in the passive. It means: those in whose regard, and for whose sake, the sin was incurred; namely, the heirs of the deceased, on whose account the two who swore became liable to sin. Here, “against” has the meaning of “in,” just as Allah says, “over Solomon’s kingdom” (al-Baqarah, 102), meaning: during Solomon’s kingdom.
Hafs recited it in the active voice, “who incurred,” with the tā’ and ḥā’ pronounced with fatḥah; this is also the recitation of ‘Ali and al-Hasan. That is, sin became due and binding upon them. It is said that “became due” and “incurred” carry one and the same meaning. “The two nearest”: this is an adjective describing “two others”; that is, two others who are the nearest relatives. This is permissible even though “the two nearest” is definite while “two others” is indefinite, because once “two others” was qualified by the phrase “from among those,” it came to resemble a definite noun. “The two nearest” is the dual form of “the nearest,” meaning the closest relative. Hamzah, Abu Bakr in his transmission from ‘Asim, and Ya‘qub recited it in the plural, “the nearest ones,” in which case it is an apposition to “those”; what is meant by them, likewise, is the deceased’s heirs.
The meaning of the verse is that when the betrayal of the two who swore becomes evident, two other relatives of the deceased should stand forth and swear by Allah: “Our testimony is truer than their testimony”—that is, our oath is truer than their oath. Similar to this is Allah’s saying concerning mutual imprecation: “The testimony of one of them shall be four testimonies by Allah” (al-Nur, 6). What is meant by “testimony” there is oaths. Thus, it is like a person saying, “I testify by Allah,” meaning, “I swear by Allah.” “And we have not transgressed”—in our oaths or in our assertion that our testimony is truer than theirs—“for then we would surely be among the wrongdoers.”
When this verse was revealed, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As and al-Muttalib ibn Abi Wada‘ah, both of Banu Sahm, stood up and swore by Allah after the afternoon prayer. The vessel was then handed over to them and to the deceased’s heirs. After embracing Islam, Tamim al-Dari would say, “Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth. I took the vessel, so I repent to Allah and seek His forgiveness.” The oath was transferred to the heirs because the two executors claimed that they had purchased it.
If an executor takes something from the deceased’s estate and says, “He bequeathed it to me,” the heir must swear, if he denies this claim. Likewise, if a man claims an item that is in another man’s possession, and the latter acknowledges the claim but then asserts that he bought it from the claimant, the claimant must swear that he did not sell it to him.
It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (1), may Allah be pleased with him, from Tamim al-Dari, who said: “We sold the vessel for one thousand dirhams, which ‘Adi and I divided between ourselves. When I embraced Islam, I felt the gravity of my sin. So I went to the deceased’s heirs and informed them that my companion had an equal amount. They brought him before the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and ‘Amr and al-Muttalib swore. I recovered the five hundred from ‘Adi, and I myself returned the five hundred.”