Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 17 Al-Isra, Ayat 34-34

وَلَا تَقۡرَبُوۡا مَالَ الۡيَتِيۡمِ اِلَّا بِالَّتِىۡ هِىَ اَحۡسَنُ حَتّٰى يَبۡلُغَ اَشُدَّهٗ​ وَاَوۡفُوۡا بِالۡعَهۡدِ​ۚ اِنَّ الۡعَهۡدَ كَانَ مَسۡـُٔوۡلًا‏  ﴿17:34﴾

(17:34) (x) And do not even go near the property of the orphan - except that it be in the best manner - till he attains his maturity.38 (xi) And fulfil the covenant, for you will be called to account regarding the covenant.39


Notes

38. This too, was not merely a moral instruction. When the Islamic state was established, legal and administrative methods were adopted to safeguard the rights of orphans, the details of which are found in the literature of Hadith and Fiqh. Then this principle was extended to cover the cases of all those citizens who were unable to safeguard their own rights. The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself declared: I am the guardian of the one who has no guardian. And this is the basis of many rules and regulations of the Islamic law.

39. Fulfillment of pledges was not meant to be merely a moral instruction for individuals but afterwards when the Islamic state was established, this became the guiding principle for the conduct of all internal; and external affairs by the Muslim community and the Islamic government.