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.  

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  

Ibn ‘Abbas explained 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 that ye may take away a part of that which ye have given them, unless they be guilty of flagrant lewdness and said “This means that a man used to inherit a relative woman. He prevented her from marriage till she died or returned her dower to her. Hence, Allaah prohibited that practice.  

أَنْ تَرِثُوا النِّسَاءَ كَرْهًا وَلاَ تَعْضُلُوهُنَّ لِتَذْهَبُوا بِبَعْضِ مَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَأْتِينَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُبَيِّنَةٍ } وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ الرَّجُلَ كَانَ يَرِثُ امْرَأَةَ ذِي قَرَابَتِهِ فَيَعْضُلُهَا حَتَّى تَمُوتَ أَوْ تَرُدَّ إِلَيْهِ صَدَاقَهَا فَأَحْكَمَ اللَّهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ وَنَهَى عَنْ ذَلِكَ  

The aforesaid tradition has also been transmitted by Al Dahhak to the same effect through a different chain of narrators. This version has Allaah prohibited that (practice).  

فَوَعَظَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ