Chapters on Shares of Inheritance

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mundhir al-Ḥizāmī narrated to us: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿUmar ibn Abī al-ʿAṭṭāf narrated to us: Abū al-Zinād narrated to us, from al-Aʿraj, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Abū Hurayrah, learn the prescribed shares of inheritance and teach them, for they are half of knowledge. They will be forgotten, and they are the first thing to be taken away from my community.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmar al-ʿAdanī narrated to us: Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAqīl, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The wife of Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with his two daughters and said: “Messenger of God, these are the two daughters of Saʿd. He was killed with you on the day of Uḥud, and their paternal uncle took everything their father left. A woman is not married except for her property.” The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, remained silent until the verse on inheritance was revealed. Then he summoned the brother of Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ and said: “Give the two daughters two-thirds of the property, give his wife one-eighth, and take what remains.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad narrated to us: Wakīʿ narrated to us: Sufyān narrated to us, from Abū Qays al-Awdī, from al-Huzayl ibn Shuraḥbīl, who said: A man came to Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī and Salmān ibn Rabīʿah al-Bāhilī and asked them about the shares of a daughter, a granddaughter through a son, and a full sister. They said: “The daughter receives half, and the remainder goes to the sister. Go to Ibn Masʿūd; he will agree with us.” The man went to Ibn Masʿūd, asked him, and told him what they had said. ʿAbd Allāh said: “Then I would have gone astray and would not be among the guided. Rather, I will rule as the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, ruled: the daughter receives half, the granddaughter through a son receives one-sixth to complete two-thirds, and the remainder goes to the sister.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us: Shabābah narrated to us: Yūnus ibn Abī Isḥāq narrated to us, from Abū Isḥāq, from ʿAmr ibn Maymūn, from Maʿqil ibn Yasār al-Muzanī, who said: I heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when a case involving a grandfather was brought to him. He assigned him one-third or one-sixth.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Qaṭṭān said: Abū Ḥātim narrated to us: Ibn al-Ṭabbāʿ narrated to us: Hushaym narrated to us, from Yūnus, from al-Ḥasan, from Maʿqil ibn Yasār, who said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, ruled that a grandfather among us should receive one-sixth.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Aḥmad ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Sarḥ al-Miṣrī informed us: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb informed us: Yūnus informed us, from Ibn Shihāb, who related from Qabīṣah ibn Dhuʾayb. And Suwayd ibn Saʿīd narrated to us: Mālik ibn Anas narrated to us, from Ibn Shihāb, from ʿUthmān ibn Isḥāq ibn Kharashah, from Ibn Dhuʾayb, who said: A grandmother came to Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq asking for her inheritance. Abū Bakr said to her: “You have no share stated for you in the Book of God, and I know of no share for you in the practice of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. Go back until I ask the people.” He asked the people, and al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah said: “I was present with the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, when he gave her one-sixth.” Abū Bakr said, “Is there anyone besides you?” Muḥammad ibn Maslamah al-Anṣārī stood and said the same as al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah. So Abū Bakr enacted it for her. Then another paternal grandmother came to ʿUmar asking for her inheritance. He said: “You have no share stated for you in the Book of God. The ruling that was made was only for someone else, and I will not add anything to the prescribed shares. But this is the one-sixth: if you both share it, it is between you; if one of you is alone with it, it belongs to her.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb narrated to us: Salm ibn Qutaybah narrated to us, from Sharīk, from Layth, from Ṭāwūs, from Ibn ʿAbbās, that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, assigned a grandmother one-sixth of the inheritance.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayyah narrated to us, from Saʿīd, from Qatādah, from Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, from Maʿdān ibn Abī Ṭalḥah al-Yaʿmurī, that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb stood to deliver a sermon on Friday—or addressed them on Friday—praised and glorified God, and said: By God, I will leave behind nothing more important to me than the matter of kalālah. I asked the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and he spoke to me more sternly about nothing than about it. He jabbed me in my side—or my chest—with his finger, then said: “ʿUmar, the summer verse revealed at the end of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ is sufficient for you.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad and Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah said: Wakīʿ narrated to us: Sufyān narrated to us: ʿAmr ibn Murrah narrated to us, from Murrah ibn Sharāḥīl, who said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb said: “There are three matters that I would have loved the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, to clarify for me more than the world and everything in it: kalālah, usury, and the caliphate.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Hishām ibn ʿAmmār narrated to us: Sufyān narrated to us, from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir, who heard Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh say: I fell ill, and the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, came to visit me with Abū Bakr. They were walking, and I had lost consciousness. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, performed ablution and poured some of its water over me. I said, “Messenger of God, what should I do? How should I dispose of my property?” Then the inheritance verse at the end of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ was revealed: “If a man is inherited from as kalālah...” and “They ask you for a ruling. Say: God gives you a ruling concerning kalālah...”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Hishām ibn ʿAmmār and Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ said: Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us, from al-Zuhrī, from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, from ʿAmr ibn ʿUthmān, from Usāmah ibn Zayd, who traced it back to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “A Muslim does not inherit from an unbeliever, nor does an unbeliever inherit from a Muslim.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Aḥmad ibn ʿAmr ibn al-Sarḥ narrated to us: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb narrated to us: Yūnus informed us, from Ibn Shihāb, from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, who told him that ʿAmr ibn ʿUthmān informed him from Usāmah ibn Zayd, who said: I asked, “Messenger of God, will you stay in your house in Mecca?” He said, “Has ʿAqīl left us any houses or dwellings?” ʿAqīl inherited Abū Ṭālib, together with Ṭālib, but neither Jaʿfar nor ʿAlī inherited anything because they were Muslims while ʿAqīl and Ṭālib were unbelievers. For that reason ʿUmar used to say: “A believer does not inherit from an unbeliever.” Usāmah said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “A Muslim does not inherit from an unbeliever, nor does an unbeliever inherit from a Muslim.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Muḥammad ibn Rumḥ narrated to us: Ibn Lahīʿah informed us, from Khālid ibn Yazīd, that al-Muthannā ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ told him, from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The people of two different religions do not inherit from one another.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us: Abū Usāmah narrated to us: Ḥusayn al-Muʿallim narrated to us, from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: Raʾāb ibn Ḥudhayfah ibn Saʿīd ibn Sahm married Umm Wāʾil bint Maʿmar al-Jumaḥiyyah, and she bore him three sons. Their mother died, and her sons inherited her dwellings and the patronage of her freed people. ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ took them with him to Syria, and they died in the plague of ʿAmwās. ʿAmr inherited from them, as he was their agnatic heir. When ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ returned, the sons of Maʿmar disputed with him over the patronage of their sister and brought the case before ʿUmar. ʿUmar said: “I will judge between you according to what I heard from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him. I heard him say that whatever a child or parent acquires belongs to his agnatic heirs, whoever they may be.” He ruled in our favor and wrote a document for us, witnessed by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, Zayd ibn Thābit, and another person. When ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān became caliph, a freed person of hers died, leaving two thousand dinars. I heard that this ruling had been changed, so they disputed the matter before Hishām ibn Ismāʿīl, who referred us to ʿAbd al-Malik. We brought the document written by ʿUmar. He said: “I thought this was a ruling that admitted no doubt. I never thought the people of Medina would reach the point of doubting this ruling.” He ruled in our favor, and the matter remained settled thereafter.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah and ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad said: Wakīʿ narrated to us: Sufyān narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aṣbahānī, from Mujāhid ibn Wardān, from ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, from ʿĀʾishah, that a freed client of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, fell from a palm tree and died, leaving wealth but no child or close relative. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Give his inheritance to a man from his village.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us: Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī narrated to us, from Zāʾidah, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā, from al-Ḥakam, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Shaddād, from the daughter of Ḥamzah—Muḥammad, meaning Ibn Abī Laylā, said that she was a maternal sister of Ibn Shaddād—who said: My freed client died and left a daughter. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, divided his property between me and his daughter, assigning half to me and half to her.

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Muḥammad ibn Rumḥ informed us: al-Layth ibn Saʿd informed us, from Isḥāq ibn Abī Farwah, from Ibn Shihāb, from Ḥumayd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, from Abū Hurayrah, from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “A killer does not inherit.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad and Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā said: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Mūsā narrated to us, from al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ, from Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd—and Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā said, “from ʿUmar ibn Saʿīd”—from ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, who narrated to me, from my grandfather ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, stood on the day Mecca was conquered and said: “A wife inherits from the blood money and property of her husband, and he inherits from her blood money and property, as long as neither kills the other. If either of them deliberately kills the other, the killer inherits nothing from the blood money or property belonging to the victim. If either of them kills the other by mistake, the killer inherits from the victim property but not from the blood money.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah and ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad said: Wakīʿ narrated to us, from Sufyān, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥārith ibn ʿAyyāsh ibn Abī Rabīʿah al-Zuraqī, from Ḥakīm ibn Ḥakīm ibn ʿAbbād ibn Ḥunayf al-Anṣārī, from Abū Umāmah ibn Sahl ibn Ḥunayf, that a man shot another man with an arrow and killed him, and the only heir was a maternal uncle. Abū ʿUbaydah ibn al-Jarrāḥ wrote to ʿUmar about it, and ʿUmar wrote back that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had said: “God and His Messenger are the patrons of one who has no patron, and a maternal uncle is the heir of one who has no heir.”

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us: Shabābah narrated to us. And Muḥammad ibn al-Walīd narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us. They both said: Shuʿbah narrated to us: Budayl ibn Maysarah al-ʿUqaylī narrated to me, from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥah, from Rāshid ibn Saʿd, from Abū ʿĀmir al-Hawzanī, from al-Miqdām Abū Karīmah—a man from Syria and one of the Companions of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him—who said: The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever leaves property, it is for his heirs. Whoever leaves dependents in hardship, they are our responsibility”—or he said, “They are the responsibility of God and His Messenger.” “I am the heir of one who has no heir: I pay his blood compensation and inherit from him. A maternal uncle is the heir of one who has no heir: he pays his blood compensation and inherits from him.”