Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:About the Qur'anic verse: "It is not lawful for you forcibly to inherit the woman (of your deceased kinsmen), nor (that) ye should put constraint upon them. When a man died, his relatives had more right to his wife then her own guardian. If any one of them wanted to marry her, he did so; or they married her (to some other person), and if they did not want to marry her, they did so. So this verse was revealed about the matter.
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مَنِيعٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَسْبَاطُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الشَّيْبَانِيُّ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، - قَالَ الشَّيْبَانِيُّ وَذَكَرَهُ عَطَاءٌ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ السُّوَائِيُّ وَلاَ أَظُنُّهُ إِلاَّ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، - فِي هَذِهِ الآيَةِ { لاَ يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ أَنْ تَرِثُوا النِّسَاءَ كَرْهًا وَلاَ تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ } قَالَ كَانَ الرَّجُلُ إِذَا مَاتَ كَانَ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ أَحَقَّ بِامْرَأَتِهِ مِنْ وَلِيِّ نَفْسِهَا إِنْ شَاءَ بَعْضُهُمْ زَوَّجَهَا أَوْ زَوَّجُوهَا وَإِنْ شَاءُوا لَمْ يُزَوِّجُوهَا فَنَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ الآيَةُ فِي ذَلِكَ .
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Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah) • Hadith 2089