Sura al-Nisa: Difference between revisions

The Sura is called "al-Nisa'" (women) because the word, "nisa'" occurs more than 20 times in it and many jurisprudential rulings of women appear therein. It is also known as "Sura al-Nisa' al-Kubra" (literally: the major Sura of women), because [[Sura al-Talaq]] is also known as "Sura al-Nisa' al-Sughra" (literally: the minor Sura of women) or "Sura al-Nisa' al-Qusra" (literally: the short Sura of women).

Sura al-Nisa' is a Madani Sura. In its order of revelation, it is the 92nd Sura revealed to the Prophet (s). And in the traditional order of compilation, it is the 4th Sura of the [[Qur'an]] in 4th to 6th juz's.

Sura al-Nisa' has 176 verses, 3764 words, and 16328 letters. With respect to its size, it counts as one of [[Sab' Tiwal]] (the seven long Suras), and it is the second longest Sura of the Qur'an after [[Sura al-Baqara]]. Sura al-Nisa' occupies about 1 and a half juz's of the Qur'an.

According to ''[[al-Mizan]]'', Sura al-Nisa' is concerned with the rulings of marriage, such as the number of wives a man can marry and people whom one cannot marry. It also states the rulings of inheritance as well as other issues, such as the rulings of prayer, jihad, martyrdom, and very briefly, the [[People of the Book]]. Other issues in this sura include: calling to faith and justice, stories of past nations, mutual rights and obligations of people in the society, jihad against unbelievers, and warnings against hypocrites.

The verse 23 of Sura al-Nisa' states the prohibition of marrying some relatives. "Maharim" (plural form of "[[mahram]]") is a jurisprudential term referring to relatives it is forbidden to marry. With respect to the grounds of being mahram (blood relation, marriage, and [[rida']] or breastfeeding), Maharim are distinguished to "nasabi" (by blood), "sababi" (by marriage), and "rida'i" (by breastfeeding).

Verse 43 of Sura al-Nisa' states the rulings of [[tayammum]]. According to this verse, if water is harmful for one's body or if water is not accessible to one, one can perform tayammum instead of [[wudu]] or [[ghusl]].

Verse 59 of this sura orders believers to obey God, the [[Messenger of God]], and "Uli l-Amr". Shiite exegetes as well as some [[Sunni]] exegetes, such as [[al-Fakhr al-Razi]], believe that the verse implies the [[infallibility]] of Uli l-Amr. There are many [[hadiths]] in Shiite sources to the effect that "Uli l-Amr" are the [[Infallible]] [[Imams (a)]].

Verses 34 and 128 of Sura al-Nisa' are known as Verses of Nushuz. "Nushuz" is a jurisprudential term mainly referring to a wife's disobedience of her husband in things like sexual requests and leaving the house without his permission. It is also used for a man when he disrespects her and does not observe her rights. In some hadiths, a man's "nushuz" is interpreted as his decision to [[divorce]] his wife.

Over 30 verses in Sura al-Nisa' are known as "[[Ayat al-Ahkam]]" (jurisprudential verses). A large number of these verses state the rulings of [[marriage]] (such as verses 3, 20-25, 34-35, and 128) and the rulings of inheritance (such as verses 7, 15-16, 25, 33, and 176). For example, verse 3 says that men are permitted to have four wives, and verses 23-24 are concerned with relatives who count as [[maharim]], that is, the ones it is forbidden to marry. The shares of inheritance for sons and daughters (two shares for sons and one share for daughters), as well as fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives, are specified in some verses.

[[The Prophet (s)]] is quoted as saying that if one recites Sura al-Nisa', it would be as if he gave [[sadaqa]] as much as the heritages of all believers and he will be given the reward equivalent to that of someone who emancipated a slave and will be pure from polytheism, and in God's providence, he will be one of those who are forgiven by God. [[Imam 'Ali (a)]] is also quoted as saying that if one recites Sura al-Nisa' on [[Friday]]s, he will be protected from the [[pressure of the grave]].  

There are virtues for the recitation of this Sura mentioned in sources of [[hadith]]s, such as the removal of fear (if it is washed with rain water and drunk) and finding lost things. According to [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi]]'s ''[[Misbah al-mutahajjid]]'', it is recommended to recite Sura al-Nisa' after the [[morning prayer]] on Fridays.

* The material for this article is mainly taken from {{ia|[[:fa:سوره نساء|سوره نساء]]}} in Farsi Wikishia.

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