Tafsir al-Sadi - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (164)

Tafsir al-SadiAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

(5) “Do not hand over to those lacking sound judgment your property, which Allah has made a means of support for you. Rather, provide for them from it, clothe them, and speak to them kindly.”

Regarding the words of Allah Most High, “Do not hand over to those lacking sound judgment your property, which Allah has made a means of support for you. Rather, provide for them from it, clothe them, and speak to them kindly,” “those lacking sound judgment” are people who cannot manage property properly, whether because they lack mental capacity, such as the insane, the mentally impaired, and others like them, or because they lack mature judgment, such as minors and those who are not of sound judgment.

Allah therefore forbade guardians from handing such people their property, lest they spoil or squander it. Allah has made property a means by which His servants sustain their religious and worldly interests, yet these people are unable to manage and preserve it properly. He therefore commanded guardians not to hand it over to them, but instead to provide for them and clothe them from it and to spend from it on their religious and worldly necessities and needs. Guardians must also “speak to them kindly” by promising them, when they ask for their property, that it will be handed over once they attain sound judgment, and by addressing them gently so as to comfort their hearts.

Allah’s attribution of the property to the guardians indicates that they must handle the property of those lacking sound judgment as they handle their own: preserving it, managing it properly, and not exposing it to risks.

The verse also proves that the maintenance of an insane person, a minor, or someone lacking sound judgment is to be paid from that person’s own property, if they possess any, as indicated by His words: “Rather, provide for them from it and clothe them.”

It also proves that a guardian’s statement is to be accepted regarding any plausible claim he makes about expenditure on maintenance and clothing, for Allah has entrusted him with their property, and the statement of one who is entrusted must therefore be accepted.

﴿٥﴾ ﴿وَلا تُؤْتُوا السُّفَهَاءَ أَمْوَالَكُمُ الَّتِي جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ قِيَامًا وَارْزُقُوهُمْ فِيهَا وَاكْسُوهُمْ وَقُولُوا لَهُمْ قَوْلا مَعْرُوفًا﴾ . وقوله تعالى: ﴿ولا تؤتوا السفهاء أموالكم التي جعل الله لكم قياما وارزقوهم فيها واكسوهم وقولوا لهم قولا معروفا﴾ السفهاء: جمع "سفيه" وهو: من لا يحسن التصرف في المال، إما لعدم عقله كالمجنون والمعتوه، ونحوهما، وإما لعدم رشده كالصغير وغير الرشيد. فنهى الله الأولياء أن يؤتوا هؤلاء أموالهم خشية إفسادها وإتلافها، لأن الله جعل الأموال قياما لعباده في مصالح دينهم ودنياهم، وهؤلاء لا يحسنون القيام عليها وحفظها، فأمر الولي أن لا يؤتيهم إياها، بل يرزقهم منها ويكسوهم، ويبذل منها ما يتعلق بضروراتهم وحاجاتهم الدينية والدنيوية، وأن يقولوا لهم قولا معروفا، بأن يعدوهم -إذا طلبوها- أنهم سيدفعونها لهم بعد رشدهم، ونحو ذلك، ويلطفوا لهم في الأقوال جبرًا لخواطرهم. وفي إضافته تعالى الأموال إلى الأولياء، إشارة إلى أنه يجب عليهم أن يعملوا في أموال السفهاء ما يفعلونه في أموالهم، من الحفظ والتصرف وعدم التعريض للأخطار. وفي الآية دليل على أن نفقة المجنون والصغير والسفيه في مالهم، إذا كان لهم مال، لقوله: ﴿وَارْزُقُوهُمْ فِيهَا وَاكْسُوهُمْ﴾ . وفيه دليل على أن قول الولي مقبول فيما يدعيه من النفقة الممكنة والكسوة؛ لأن الله جعله مؤتمنا على مالهم فلزم قبول قول الأمين.