أَخْبَرَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ حَکِيمٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الصَّلْتِ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو کُدَيْنَةَ عَنْ عَطَائٍ وَهُوَ ابْنُ السَّائِبِ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ وَ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَأْکُلُونَ أَمْوَالَ الْيَتَامَی ظُلْمًا قَالَ اجْتَنَبَ النَّاسُ مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ وَطَعَامَهُ فَشَقَّ ذَلِکَ عَلَی الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَشَکَوْا ذَلِکَ إِلَی النَّبِيِّ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَيَسْأَلُونَکَ عَنْ الْيَتَامَی قُلْ إِصْلَاحٌ لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ إِلَی قَوْلِهِ لَأَعْنَتَکُمْ
سنن نسائی · Hadith 3704
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “When these Verses were revealed — ‘And come not near to the orphan’s property, except to improve it,’ and ‘Verily, those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans’ — the people avoided the property and food of the orphans. That caused hardship to the Muslims and they complained about that to the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم Then Allah revealed: ‘And they ask you concerning orphans. Say: The best thing is to work honestly in their property, and if you mix your affairs with theirs, then they are your brothers. And Allah knows him who means mischief (e.g. to swallow their property) from him who means good (e.g. to save their property). And if Allah had wished, He could have put you into difficulties” (Da’If)
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020