(And they question thee concerning orphans…) [2:220]. Abu Mansur ‘Abd al-Qahir ibn Tahir informed us> Abu’l-Hasan Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Sarraj> al-Hasan ibn al-Muthanna ibn Mu‘adh> Abu Hudhayfah Musa ibn Mas‘ud> Sufyan al-Thawri> Salim al-Aftas> Sa‘id ibn Jubayr who said: “When the verse (Lo! Those who devour the wealth of orphans wrongfully, they do but swallow fire into their bellies…) [4:10] people rushed to separate their own wealth from the wealth of orphans they were in charge of. Then Allah revealed (And if ye mingle your affairs with theirs, then (they are) your brothers) upon which they mixed their own wealth with the wealth of orphans”. Sa‘id ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Zahid informed us> Abu ‘Ali al-Faqih> ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Baghawi> ‘Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah> Jarir> ‘Ata’ ibn al-Sa’ib> Sa‘id ibn Jubayr> Ibn ‘Abbas who said: “When Allah, exalted is He, revealed the verse (And approach not the wealth of the orphan save with that which is better…), whoever had an orphan’s wealth with him proceeded to isolate his food and drink from the orphan’s food and drink, and whatever remained of the orphan’s food was kept aside until the orphan would use it or it gets bad; and this was a source of anguish for people. They went and mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and as a response, Allah, glorified and exalted, revealed (And they question thee concerning orphans. Say: To improve their lot is best), by mixing their food and drink with their food and drink”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
