Quote:
{2:180} Prescribed for you when death approaches [any] one of you if he leaves wealth [is that he should make] a bequest for the parents and near relatives according to what is acceptable - a duty upon the righteous.
I'd only change "righteous" to "watchful [of God]." I like the translation of
الوصية as "bequest", rather than a will. The Arabic word can mean both, but as later verses make clear, it means a bequest here. The distinction becomes important when folks wonder if the later inheritance verses abrogate this verse. They don't.
I suggest,
{2:180} Prescribed for you when death has come to one of you if he leaves some good (an estate) is [to declare] a bequest for the parents and the closest relatives as customary - rightfully upon the watchful [of God].Quote:
{2:181} Then whoever alters the bequest after he has heard it - the sin is only upon those who have altered it. Indeed, God is Hearing and Knowing.
I suggest,
{2:181} Then whoever has substituted it (the bequest instruction) after he has heard it - then verily, its sin is only upon those who substitute it. Verily, God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.Quote:
{2:182} But if one fears from the bequeather [some] error or sin and corrects that which is between them, there is no sin upon him. Indeed, God is Forgiving and Merciful.
I suggest,
{2:182} Then if one had feared a partiality or malfeasance from a testator then reconciled between them, then there is no sin upon him. Verily, God is much Forgiving and Merciful.