'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (they ask thee for a pronouncement) o muhammad. this verse was revealed about jabir ibn 'abdullah al-ansari who asked the prophet (pbuh): i have a sister. what do i inherit from her if she dies? so allah said: they ask you, o muhammad, about the inheritance of al-kalalah (say: allah hath pronounced for you) allah clarifies for you (concerning distant kindred) concerning the inheritance of al-kalalah which is anyone other than the father and the son. he said: (if a man dies childless) and his father is also deceased (and he has a sister) a full sister, or half sister from his father's side, (hers is half the heritage) left by the deceased person, (and he would have inherited from her had she died childless) without sons or daughters. (and if there be two sisters) full sisters or half sisters from the father's side, (then theirs are two-thirds of the heritage) that the deceased person has left behind, (and if they be brethren, men and women) male or female, full siblings or half siblings from the father, (unto the male is the equivalent of the share of two females. allah expoundeth unto you) the division of estates, (so that ye err not) in the division of estates. (allah is knower of all things) of the divisions of estates and other things'.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : they will ask you for a pronouncement, concerning indirect heirs. say: ‘god pronounces to you concerning indirect heirs. if a man (in imru’un is in the nominative because of the verb [halaka, ‘perishes’] that explains it) perishes, dies, having no children, and no parent, and this is the one referred to as an indirect heir (kalāla), but he has a sister, from both parents or from one, hers is half of what he leaves, and he, a brother, similarly, is her heir, in all that she leaves, if she has no children: but if she has a son, then he [the maternal uncle] receives nothing, and if a daughter, then whatever is left after her share; if the brother and sister be from the same mother, then the one receives a sixth, as was stipulated at the beginning of the sūra [q. 4:11]. if there be two sisters, or more — for this was revealed regarding jābir [b. ‘abd allāh], who died and was survived by sisters —, theirs are two-thirds of what he, the brother, leaves; if there be, among the inheritors, siblings, men and women, then the male, among them, shall receive the equivalent of the portion of two females. god makes clear to you, the stipulations of your religion, lest you go astray; and god has knowledge of all things’, including [matters of] inheritance: it is reported by the two shaykhs [bukhārī and muslim] that al-barā’ [b. ‘Āzib] said that this was the last of the ‘duty’ verses to be revealed.
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (they ask thee for a pronouncement. say: allah hath pronounced for you concerning distant kindred…) [4:176].
abu ‘abd al-rahman ibn abi hamid informed us>zahir ibn ahmad> al-husayn ibn muhammad ibn mus‘ab> yahya ibn hakim> ibn abi ‘adiyy> hisham ibn abi ‘abd allah> abu’l-zubayr> jabir who said: “i had seven sisters and i fell ill. the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, came to visit me. [he found me unconscious and so] he spit on my face and i woke up. i said to him: ‘o messenger of allah, can i bequest for my sister two thirds of my wealth’. he said: ‘hold back!’ i said: ‘what about half?’ he said: ‘hold back!’ and then he went out and left me. then he came back and said to me: ‘o jabir, you are not going to die as a result of your present illness. allah has revealed verses explaining the share your sister should have. he has apportioned two thirds for them’ ”. jabir used to say: “this verse (they ask thee for a pronouncement. say: allah hath pronounced for you concerning distant kindred…) was revealed about me”.
