The Quran

127

وَيَستَفتونَكَ فِي النِّساءِ ۖ قُلِ اللَّهُ يُفتيكُم فيهِنَّ وَما يُتلىٰ عَلَيكُم فِي الكِتابِ في يَتامَى النِّساءِ اللّاتي لا تُؤتونَهُنَّ ما كُتِبَ لَهُنَّ وَتَرغَبونَ أَن تَنكِحوهُنَّ وَالمُستَضعَفينَ مِنَ الوِلدانِ وَأَن تَقوموا لِليَتامىٰ بِالقِسطِ ۚ وَما تَفعَلوا مِن خَيرٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كانَ بِهِ عَليمًا

Muhammad Asad

AND THEY will ask thee to enlighten them about the laws concerning women.¹ Say: "God [Himself] enlightens you about the laws concerning them" - for [His will is shown] in what is being conveyed unto you through this divine writ about orphan women [in your charge], to whom - because you yourselves may be desirous of marrying them - you do not give that which has been ordained for them;² and about helpless children; and about your duty to treat orphans with equity. And whatever good you may do - behold, God has indeed full knowledge thereof.

I.e., the laws relating to marital relations, women's share in inheritance, etc. A fatwa or ifta denotes the "clarification of a legal injunction" given in reply to a question; correspondingly, the verb istaftahu means "he asked him to give a legal decision", or "to enlighten him about a [particular] law". Since the laws alluded to in the above passage have already been dealt with early in this surah, the repeated reference to them is meant to stress the great importance of the problems involved, as well as the responsibility which men bear towards their physically weaker counterparts. In accordance with the system prevailing throughout the Qur'an, a lengthy passage dealing with purely moral or ethical questions is usually - as in the present case - followed by verses relating to social legislation, and this with a view to bringing out the intimate connection between man's spiritual life and his social behaviour.
Cf. verse 3 of this surah, "If you have reason to fear that you might not act equitably towards orphans...", and Aishah's explanation quoted in the corresponding note.