Al-Jabri, in his book لا نسخ في القرآن...لماذا؟, page 63, rejects this claim and agrees with Al-Asfahaani's interpretation. He also sees a noble teaching in 4:33 in that it expands the circle of beneficiaries of an estate to the wife! In the pre-Islam era, the Arabs deprived their wives and in-laws from their estates.
He sees the nobility of this teaching in the following consequences of rejecting this claim and keeping 4:33 valid:
- Wives receiving inheritance is an acknowledgment of their equal rights and value in society, after they have been passed as inheritance themselves before Islam!
- Passing an estate from husband's family to wife's family teaches Muslims that wealth is transitory and is not to be monopolized by a tribe or family line.
On pages 68-71 he repeats his rejection of the claim as it pertains to allies and servants. He points out that accepting that 4:33 was not abrogated has a number of noble consequences:
- Widening the circle of beneficiaries. That helps in wealth distribution in a natural way, as opposed to socialism.
- Putting one's money where one's mouth is! Allies and servants can trust that promises made to them of bequests are honored.