Al-Wasiyya Verse
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | Sura al-Baqara |
| Verse | 180 |
| Juz' | 2 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | jurisprudence |
| About | Will |
| Others | Abrogated by Inheritance Verses |
| Related Verses | Verses of Wasiyya |
Al-Wasīyya Verse (Arabic: آیة الوصیة), or the Verse of Will, is the verse 180 of the Qur'an 2 in which God commands people to will for their fathers, mothers, and close relatives. The verse apparently implies the obligation of making a will. However, jurists believe that is recommended. One reason for this is that the verse of will is abrogated by Inheritance Verses.
The Verse of Will has been appealed to in sections on the will in jurisprudential books. Qur'anic exegetes appeal to the word, "ma'ruf" (an honorable manner), to show that the will should be in accordance with the common sense and not lead to disputes and discrimination.
Text and Translation
| “ | ” | |
| — Qur'an 2:180 | ||
Ruling of the Will
According to some Qur'anic exegetes, the phrase, "kutib-a alay-kum" (prescribed for you), in the verse 180 of Qur'an 2 prima facie implies the obligation of making a will. However, jurists consider it to be recommended. Different reasons have suggested for why making a will is taken to be recommended despite the apparent implication of its obligation in the verse.[1] On one account, it is strongly recommended to make a will. Thus, the phrase, "prescribed for you", is taken to imply that making a will is strongly recommended. Moreover, the phrase, "an obligation on the God-wary", in the verse is taken to imply its being recommended, since if it were obligatory, the verse should have said, "an obligation on the believers".[2]
On another account, the obligation of making a will was legislated before the revelation of jurisprudential rulings concerning inheritance. Thus, at the time, it was obligatory to make a will lest inheritors dispute over the bequeathed property. However, the ruling was abrogated after the revelation of the rulings of inheritance and it turned into a recommended action.[3] Thus, some Qur'anic exegetes take verses of inheritance, such as verses seven and eleven of the Qur'an 4, to abrogate the Verse of Will.[4]
On another account, the obligation of making a will is restricted to certain necessary cases, such as when the testator is indebted to someone.[5] The Verse of Will is discussed in the section on the will in jurisprudential books.[6]
Meaning of "Ma'ruf" Will
The verse 180 of Qur'an 2 qualifies making the will with "ma'ruf" (an honorable manner). According to some Qur'anic exegetes, it means that the will should be made in accordance to the common sense. That is to say, it should be made in such a way that is commonly considered by rational people as appropriate, not involving discrimination, disputes, or injustice.[7]
Notes
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 1, p. 614.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 1, p. 614.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 1, p. 614.
- ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 65; Qāsim b. Salām, Nāsikh wa al-mansūkh fī al-Qurʾān, p. 230.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 1, p. 614.
- ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 28, p. 247; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Rīyāḍ al-masāʾil, vol. 10, p. 257.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 1, p. 616.
References
- ʿAyyāshī, Muḥammad b. Masʿūd al-. Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī. Edited by Rasūlī Maḥallātī. 1st edition. Tehran: al-Maktaba al-ʿIlmīyya al-Islāmīyya, 1380 Sh.
- Hāshimī Shāhrūdī, Sayyid Maḥmūd. Farhang-i fiqh muṭābiq-i madhhab-i Ahl al-Bayt (a). 1st edition. Qom: Muʾassisat Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif al-Fiqh al-Islāmī, 1426 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. 8th edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1371 Sh.
- Najafī, Muḥammad al-Ḥasan al-. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1404 AH.
- Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-. Tafsīr al-Qummī. Edited by Ṭayyib Mūsawī Jazāʾrī. 3rd edition. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb, 1363 Sh.
- Qāsim b. Salām, Abū ʿUbayd. Nāsikh wa al-mansūkh fī al-Qurʾān al-ʿazīz. Edited by Muḥammad b. Ṣāliḥ. 1st edition. Riyadh: Maktabat al-Rushd Nāshrūn, 1418 AH.
- Sayyid Murtaḍā, 'Alī b. Ḥusayn. Al-Intiṣār fī infirādāt al-imāmīyya. 1st edition. Qom: Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1415 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ʿAlī. Rīyāḍ al-masāʾil fī taḥqīq al-aḥkām bi-dalāʾil. Edited by Muḥammad Bahramand/Muḥsin Qadīrī. 1st edition. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1418 AH.