Tafsir Ibn Kathir -> Surah An-Nisa -> This is the Last Ayah Ever Revealed, the Ruling on Al-Kalalah |
Al-Bukhari recorded that Al-Bara' said that the last Surah to be revealed was Surah Bara'ah (chapter 9) and the last Ayah to be revealed was, ﴿يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ﴾ (They ask you for a legal verdict...) Imam Ahmad recorded that Jabir bin `Abdullah said, "The Messenger of Allah came visiting me when I was so ill that I fell unconscious. He performed ablution and poured the remaining water on me, or had it poured on me. When I regained consciousness, I said, `I will only leave inheritance through Kalalah, so what about the inheritance that I leave behind' Allah later revealed the Ayah about Fara'id (inheritance ﴿4:11﴾).''' The Two Sahihs and also the Group recorded it. In one of the wordings, Jabir said that the Ayah on inheritance was revealed; ﴿يَسْتَفْتُونَكَ قُلِ اللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ فِى الْكَلَـلَةِ﴾ (They ask you for a legal verdict. Say: "Allah directs (thus) about Al-Kalalah.) The wording of the Ayah indicates that the question was about the Kalalah, ﴿قُلِ اللَّهُ يُفْتِيكُمْ﴾ (Say: "Allah directs (thus)...) We mentioned the meaning of Kalalah before, that it means the crown that surrounds the head from all sides. This is why the scholars stated that Kalalah pertains to one who dies and leaves behind neither descendants, nor ascendants. Some said that the Kalalah pertains to one who has no offspring, as the Ayah states, ﴿إِن امْرُؤٌ هَلَكَ لَيْسَ لَهُ وَلَدٌ﴾ (If it is a man that dies, leaving no child,) The meaning and ruling of Kalalah was somewhat confusing to the Leader of the Faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab. It is recorded in the Two Sahihs that `Umar said, "There are three matters that I wished the Messenger of Allah had explained to us, so that we could abide by his explanation. (They are: the share in the inheritance of) the grandfather, the Kalalah and a certain type of Riba.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that Ma`dan bin Abi Talhah said that `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "There is nothing that I asked the Messenger of Allah about its meaning more than the Kalalah, until he stabbed me with his finger in my chest and said, «يَكْفِيكَ آيَةُ الصَّيْفِ الَّتِي فِي آخِرِ سُورَةِ النِّسَاء» (The Ayah that is in the end of Surat An-Nisa' should suffice for you.)'' Ahmad mentioned this short narration for this Hadith, Muslim recorded a longer form of it.
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