Surah Muhammad (47) — Ayah 22

For the investigation of the meaning of {فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ اِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ … : ’’هَلْ‘‘}, see the first verse of Surah Dahr: the exegesis of « هَلْ اَتٰى عَلَى الْاِنْسَانِ حِيْنٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ ». Here, this is in the meaning of {’’ قَدْ ‘‘} (certainly). {’’ عَسَيْتُمْ ‘‘} means you are near, you are expected. {’’ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ ‘‘} is either from {’’تَوَلَّي الْوِلاَيَةَ‘‘}, meaning to be a ruler or one in authority, or from {’’ تَوَلّٰي عَنْهُ‘‘}, meaning to turn away, to show aversion. If it is from being a ruler, then the meaning of the verse is that it is better for you to adopt obedience and a kind word, because if you attain authority in this state of hypocrisy, then certainly you are near to returning to the state you were in before Islam due to being devoid of faith; you will spread corruption in the land to fulfill your desires and will severely sever your family ties. And if the meaning of {’’ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ ‘‘} is aversion and turning away, then the meaning is that it is better for you that when the command of jihad becomes definite and obligatory, you prove your sincerity by striving in the way of Allah, because if you turn away from jihad, you will never remain in peace and security, rather you will commit disobedience and sever family ties, as a result of which the same state of civil war, disobedience, and looting will return as was before Islam. In {’’ تُقَطِّعُوْۤا ‘‘} (in the intensive form), there is emphasis, meaning you will severely sever your family ties, or you will completely cut them off.

22. 1. By killing each other, that is, by misusing authority and power. Imam Ibn Kathir has translated "tawallaytum" as "you turn away from jihad and avoid it," meaning you return to the era of ignorance and engage in mutual bloodshed and severing of family ties. In this, there is a general prohibition of corruption on earth and a specific prohibition of severing family ties, and there is an emphasis on reforming the earth and maintaining family ties. This means that you should treat relatives well through words, actions, and spending wealth. There is also great emphasis and virtue of this mentioned in the ahadith.

22. Then (O hypocrites!) what is to stop you, if you gain authority, from spreading corruption on the earth [26] and severing the ties of kinship?

[26]
It is Impossible to Expect Any Good from the Hypocrites:

Jihad was only unpleasant to the hypocrites because they valued their own lives and wealth more than Islam and its interests. That is, their primary objective was to acquire wealth and save their own lives. About such people, Allah says that even if they are given authority in the world, no good can be expected from them; they will only cause turmoil and corruption in the land for the sake of their personal interests. In this matter, they will not hesitate to slaughter their own relatives. And if the meaning of ﴿تَوَلَيْتُمْ﴾ is taken as turning away and avoiding, then it would mean that if you shy away from jihad and turn away from Islam, it can only be expected of you that the pre-Islamic state will return upon you. You will fall back into those same tribal wars from which you saw no way out; you will resume the same old looting, killing, and spreading of corruption.

The Prohibition of Severing Ties of Kinship and the Sale of Umm Walad:

From this verse, as well as some other verses of the Quran, it is understood that severing ties of kinship is a major sin. Keeping in view the command of this very verse, Sayyiduna Umarؓ, after consulting his council (Shura), declared the sale of Umm Walad to be forbidden. Sayyiduna Buraydah says that one day he was sitting in the assembly of Sayyiduna Umarؓ when suddenly there was an uproar in the neighborhood. Upon inquiry, it was found that a slave woman was being sold while her daughter was standing and crying. Sayyiduna Umarؓ immediately presented this issue to his Shura to see if there was any justification for such severing of kinship in the entire Shariah. All replied in the negative, so he said, "What could be a greater act of severing kinship than separating a mother from her daughter?" At that time, he recited this very verse. The Companions submitted that for the prevention of this issue, he may adopt whatever measure he deemed appropriate. Accordingly, he issued a decree throughout all the Islamic lands that any slave woman who bore children for her master could not be sold. Although some commentators have recorded this narration, its reference is not mentioned. Moreover, this narration does not seem correct in itself, because the prohibition of selling Umm Walad is established from the Sunnah of the Prophet. In this regard, consider the following hadiths:
1. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that the Messenger of Allahﷺ said: "Whoever has intercourse with his slave woman, and she bears him a child, then after his death, she will be free." [احمد۔ ابن ماجہ۔ بحوالہ نیل الاوطار ج 6 ص 231]
2. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: I mentioned Umm Ibrahim (Maria al-Qibtiyya) to the Messenger of Allah. He said: "Her child has become the cause of her freedom." [ابن ماجہ، دارقطنی بحوالہ ایضاً]
3. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: The Prophet forbade the sale of slave women who had borne children and said that they can neither be sold, nor gifted, nor counted as inheritance. As long as the owner is alive, he may benefit from her, and when he dies, she is free. [موطا امام مالک، دارقطنی بحوالہ ایضاً]
Among these hadiths, Muwatta Imam Malik is counted among the first-class books, Ibn Majah is second-class, and Dar Qutni is third-class. However, all these hadiths support each other and are marfu‘ (attributed to the Prophet). They shed light on all aspects of this issue, i.e., the owner of such a slave woman cannot sell her or gift her even during his lifetime.