Women (Al-Nesaa)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
۞ O mankind! Fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul. He created its mate from it and from the two of them spread countless men and women [throughout the earth]. Fear God, in whose name you appeal to one another, and be mindful of your obligations in respect of ties of kinship. God is always watching over you. 1 Give unto orphans their wealth. Exchange not the good for the bad (in your management thereof) nor absorb their wealth into your own wealth. Lo! that would be a great sin. 2 And if ye apprehend that ye may not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry such as please you, of other women, by twos or threes or fours, but if ye apprehend that ye shall not act justly, then marry one only, or that which your right hands own that will be more fit, that ye may swerve not. 3 And give unto women their marriage portions in the spirit of a gift; but if they, of their own accord, give up unto you aught thereof, then enjoy it with pleasure and good cheer. 4 But do not give to fools their property that God has assigned to you to manage; provide for them and clothe them out of it, and speak to them honourable words. 5 Keep a close check on orphans till they attain the age of marriage; then, if you find them to be mature of mind, hand over their property to them. Do not consume it by wasteful spending, before they come of age. If the guardian is affluent, let him abstain altogether, and if he is poor, let him have for himself what is just and reasonable. When you hand over their property to them, call witnesses in their presence; God is sufficient as a Reckoner. 6 Men shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and women shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether there is little or much of it; a stated portion. 7 And when the relatives and orphans and the needy collect at the time of the division (of property) provide for them too, and talk kindly to them. 8 And let them fear, those who, if they would themselves leave behind helpless offspring, they would surely have been fearful on their account. Let them, then, fear Allah and make the right statement. 9 Lo! Those who devour the wealth of orphans wrongfully, they do but swallow fire into their bellies, and they will be exposed to burning flame. 10