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Qur'an 17:34

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Qur'an 17:34
Verse's Information
NameVerse 34 of Sura al-Isra
Suraal-Isra (Qur'an 17)
Verse34
Juz'15
Content Information
Place of
Revelation		Mecca
TopicProhibition of transgressing the orphan's property and the command to fulfill promises.
Related VersesQur'an 4:10 • Qur'an 5:1 • Qur'an 6:152 • Qur'an 17:23-39


Qur'an 17:34 warns against approaching and encroaching upon the property of an orphan except in cases that are in their best interest, and also emphasizes the necessity of fulfilling promises. According to Qur'an 17:39, these two divine commands are considered instances of Wisdom that God revealed to His Prophet (s).

According to some exegetes, in Qur'an 17:34, approaching an orphan's property is permitted on the condition that it is in the orphan's best interest. The orphan's interest regarding their property is understood to mean that any transaction should result in profit and an increase in their assets. Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i has formulated the concept of the first part of this verse as follows: Protect the orphan's property until they reach maturity, and when they reach maturity, hand it over to them.

The reason for the command to fulfill promises in this verse is stated to be that a person will be questioned regarding their behavior towards the promise they made, in terms of fulfillment or non-fulfillment; it is said that the questioner might be the one with whom the promise was made, human society, or Allah on the Day of Resurrection. Regarding the instance of the "Mas'ul" (the one who is questioned) in this verse, several possibilities have been suggested, including that the human being will be questioned or that the promise itself will be questioned.

Prohibition of Transgressing the Orphan's Property

According to exegetes, the first part of Qur'an 17:34 prohibits approaching (transgressing) the property of an orphan.[1] Based on Qur'an 17:39, the prohibition of approaching an orphan's property is considered one of the instances of Wisdom that God revealed to His Prophet (s).[2]

According to Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i, the Shi'i exegete, the severity of the haram status of consuming an orphan's property explains why the verse prohibits even "approaching" it, rather than merely forbidding its "consumption."[3] In his view, this heightened level of prohibition is evident in verses such as Qur'an 4:10, where consuming an orphan's property is likened to eating fire, and those who commit it are threatened with the Fire of Hell.[4]

According to some exegetes, in Qur'an 17:34, approaching an orphan's property is permitted on the condition that it is in the orphan's best interest.[5] The interest of an orphan regarding their property is defined as any disposal that leads to profit and an increase in their wealth.[6] The phrase "until he reaches his maturity" (Arabic: حَتَّیٰ یبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ) is considered the time limit for the possibility of disposing of the orphan's property for their benefit and refers to the time when the orphan has reached intellectual and economic maturity;[7] a maturity by which the status of being an orphan is removed from them.[8] 'Allama Tabataba'i has summarized the concept of the first part of this verse as: Protect the orphan's property until they reach maturity, and when they reach maturity, entrust it to them.[9]

Command to Fulfill Promises

According to exegetes, the second part of Qur'an 17:34 emphasizes the necessity of fulfilling promises.[10] According to Qur'an 17:39, the command to fulfill promises in this verse is considered an instance of Wisdom that God revealed to His Prophet (s).[11] The reason for this emphasis is that a person will be questioned about the promise; that is, the human behavior regarding the promise made—in terms of loyalty or betrayal—will be questioned by the one with whom the promise was made,[12] or by human society[13] (on the grounds that a promise is a social responsibility), or by Allah on the Day of Resurrection.[14]

Regarding the instance of the word "Mas'ul" (meaning the one/thing being questioned) in Qur'an 17:34, several possibilities have been suggested;[15] among them, it is said that the human being will be the one questioned.[16] Others have considered the promise itself to be the subject of questioning; meaning the promise will be asked how such-and-such person acted towards it.[17] In justifying this, it has been said that the promise might be one of the deeds that are embodied on the Day of Resurrection to testify for or against the person.[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 6, p. 476. al-; Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān, 1408 AH, vol. 12, p. 219.
  2. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 14, p. 124; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsir-i nimuna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 125.
  3. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 13, p. 91.
  4. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 13, pp. 90–91.
  5. ↑ Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān, 1408 AH, vol. 12, p. 219; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 13, p. 91. al-.
  6. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 13, p. 91. al-.
  7. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsir-i nimuna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 109.
  8. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 13, p. 91. al-.
  9. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 13, p. 91. al-.
  10. ↑ Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 6, p. 476. al-; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsir-i nimuna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 110.
  11. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 14, p. 124; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsir-i nimuna, 1371 Sh, vol. 12, p. 125.
  12. ↑ Kāshānī, Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn, vol. 5, p. 273.
  13. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 6, p. 230.
  14. ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, 1415 AH, vol. 3, p. 531. al-.
  15. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 13, p. 91. al-.
  16. ↑ Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 14, p. 112.
  17. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 6, p. 638. al-.
  18. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1393 AH, vol. 13, p. 91. al-.

References

  • Abū l-Futūḥ Rāzī, Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī. Rawḍ al-jinān wa rawḥ al-jinān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Muḥammad Jaʿfar Yāḥaqqī and Muḥammad Mahdī Nāṣiḥ. Mashhad, Bunyād-i Pazhūhish-hā-yi Islāmī-yi Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍawī, 1408 AH.
  • Baḥrānī, Hāshim b. Sulaymān. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom, Muʾassisat al-Baʿtha (Qism al-Dirāsāt al-Islāmiyya), 1415 AH. al-.
  • Faḍl Allāh, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Min waḥy al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār al-Malāk, 1419 AH.
  • Kāshānī, Mullā Fatḥ Allāh b. Shukr Allāh. Manhaj al-ṣādiqīn fī ilzām al-mukhālifīn. Edited by Abū l-Ḥasan Shaʿrānī. Tehran, Kitābfurūshī-yi Islāmiyya, n.d.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsir-i nimuna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1371 Sh.
  • Mudarrisī, Sayyid Muḥammad Taqī. Min hudā l-Qurʾān. Tehran, Dār Muḥibbī al-Ḥusayn, 1419 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1392 AH. al-.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Sayyid Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī and Sayyid Faḍl Allāh Yazdī Ṭabāṭabāʾī. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh. al-.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. Ḥasan. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥabīb al-ʿĀmilī. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d. al-.
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