(Give unto orphans their wealth…) [4:2]. Muqatil and al-Kalbi said: “This was revealed about a man from Ghatafan who had in his possession an abundant fortune which belonged to his orphaned nephew. When this orphan reached the age of puberty he claimed this fortune but his uncle refused to give it to him. As a result they took their dispute to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and then this verse was revealed. When the uncle heard this verse he said: ‘We obey Allah and we obey His Messenger; we seek refuge in Allah from the great peril’, and he handed the wealth over to his nephew. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘Whoever is saved from the stinginess of his ego and turn it over like thus will abide in Allah’s Garden’. When the youth received his fortune, he spent it in the way of Allah, exalted is He, which prompted the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, to say: ‘The reward is confirmed but the sin still persists’. Some asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah! We know that the reward is confirmed, but how is it that the sin still persists when he is spending his wealth in the way of Allah?’ He said: ‘The reward is confirmed for the youth while the sin persists for his father’ ”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou
