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Their substance (by mixing it With your own. For this is Indeed a great sin. 3. If ye fear that ye shall not Be able to deal justly With the orphans,50x Marry women of your choice, Two, or three, or four; But if ye fear that ye shall not Be able to deal justly (with them), Then only one, or That which your right hands possess. That will be more suitable, To prevent you From doing injustice. 509 4. And give the women (On marriage) their dower As an obligation; but if they, Of their own good pleasure, Remit any part of it to you, Take it and enjoy it With right good cheer.
507. Justice to orphans is enjoined, and three Ihings arc particularly menlioned as lemptations in Ihe way of a guardian: (1) He must not poslpone restoring all his ward's properly when the lime comes; subject 10 iv. 5 below. (2) H Ihere is a list of property, il is not enough thaI Ihal list should be lechnically followed: Ihe property restored must be of equal value to the property received: Ihe same principle applies where there is no list. (3) H property is managed together, or where perishable goods must necessarily be consumed, the striclesl probily is necessary when the separalion takes place, and Ihis is insisted on. Sec also ii. 220 and note. 508. Notice Ihe conditional clause about orphans. introducing the rules about marriage. This reminds us of Ihe immediale occasion of Ihe promulgation of this verse. h was afler U~ud, when Ihe Muslim communily was left wilh many orphans and widows and some captives of war. Their treatmenl was 10 be governed by principles of the greatest humanity and equily. The occasion is pasl, but the principles remain. Marry the orphans if you are quite sure Ihat you will in Ihat way protecl Iheir inlerests and Iheir properlY, wilh perfecI juslice 10 them and 10 your own dependanls if you have any. H not, make olher arrangements for the orphans. 509. The unrestricted number of wives of the "Times of Ignorance" was now strictly limited to a maximum of four, provided you could treat them with equality.
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