In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and may blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.
This is a summary of what was presented in this part of the explanation of Imam al-Shafi’i’s al-Risala, focusing on the important points and clarifications.
Continuing the chapter on the obligations whose text Allah revealed:
- The explicitly stated obligation and the Sunnah’s explanation of it:
- Clarification of the meaning of “the explicitly stated obligation” (al-fard al-mansus): definitive matters that do not admit multiple interpretations, in contrast to equivocal words that carry more than one meaning.
- Examples of equivocal words: “Suhayl” (a personal name and a star), and “‘alajtu ‘aynan” (meaning either “I treated an eye” or “I dealt with/punished a spy”).
- An example of an explicit text that does not admit multiple interpretations: “for the male, what is equal to the share of two females” (Al-Nisa 4:11).
- Clarification that the Sunnah explains the specific meaning intended by the explicitly stated wording in the Qur’an.
- Examples from the Qur’an and the Sunnah on inheritance:
- The verse “They request from you a [legal] ruling. Say, ‘Allah gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants [as heirs].’ If a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left. And he inherits from her if she [dies and] has no child” (Al-Nisa 4:176) is cited, with an explanation of the meaning of kalalah (a person dying without child or parent).
- The verse “For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, be it little or much - an obligatory share” (Al-Nisa 4:7) is cited.
- Clarification of why women are specifically mentioned in this verse even though they are included in the general address to men: to cut off the males’ greed for women’s rights in inheritance, especially in land and real estate.
- The verse on the shares of the parents, “And for one’s parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children. But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [and/or sisters], for his mother is a sixth, after any bequest he [may have] made or debt” (Al-Nisa 4:11), is cited, together with the rest of the verse on the parents and children whose benefit one cannot know, as “an obligation [imposed] by Allah.”
- The verse on the shares of spouses, “And for you is half of what your wives leave if they have no child. But if they have a child, for you is one fourth of what they leave… And for them [i.e., the wives] is one fourth if you leave no child. But if you leave a child, then for them is an eighth of what you leave, after any bequest you [may have] made or debt” (Al-Nisa 4:12), is cited, with an explanation of the rulings on the inheritance of the husband and the wife.
- Clarification of the conditions of a bequest: that it not exceed a third, and that it not be intended to harm the heirs.
- Clarification of the order of distributing the estate: paying debts and expenses, then executing the lawful bequest, then distributing the inheritance among the heirs.
- Mention of an amusing story about an elderly man whom Allah blessed with three children after he married a woman aged forty, as evidence that provision is in Allah’s hand, and that the inheritance is distributed after death, not before it.
- The conditions and impediments of inheritance:
- Conditions of inheritance:
- The heir and the deceased share the same religion (except in the case of the People of the Book).
- That both be among the people of the abode of Islam (or of one religious community).
- Freedom.
- Impediments to inheritance:
- (Intentional) killing.
- The hadith is cited: “The Muslim does not inherit from the disbeliever, nor the disbeliever from the Muslim.”
- The hadith is cited: “Whoever sells a slave who has wealth, his wealth belongs to the seller unless the buyer stipulates it,” with an explanation of the meaning of mukatabah (a contract by which a slave purchases his freedom).
- The hadith is cited: “Allegiance (wala’) belongs only to the one who frees.”
- Clarification that the slave does not own wealth, and that what is in his hand is the property of his master.
- Clarification that inheritance passes from the dead to the living.
- Conditions of inheritance:
- The Sunnah’s explanation of the rulings of sale:
- The verse “Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent” (Al-Nisa 4:29) is cited.
- Clarification that the sale stipulated (as lawful) is one the Shari’ah has not prohibited, so selling pigs, wine, and other prohibited things is not permissible.
- The prohibition of sales which both parties agreed to but which were made unlawful, such as selling gold for gold with an excess or with a delay. An explanation of the conditions for selling gold for gold: equality in amount and taking possession in the same sitting.
- Mention of some Sunnahs in sales: returning a sold item because of a defect, and selling date palms after pollination (ta’bir).
- Summary:
- The Sunnah explains some matters that are explicitly stated in the Qur’an by explaining their conditions or impediments.
- The Qur’an and the Sunnah must be combined in understanding the legal rulings.
- Emphasis that the rulings of Allah and the rulings of His Messenger do not differ, and that they follow one pattern.
Some important benefits:
- The meaning of the explicitly stated obligation.
- The rulings on kalalah and on inheritance among relatives and spouses.
- The conditions and impediments of inheritance.
- The rulings and conditions of sale.
- The importance of the Sunnah in explaining and interpreting the Qur’an.
We ask Allah the Exalted for acceptance and ease.
All parts of Summary of the Explanation of al-Risala by Shaykh Dr. Ahmad al-Naqeeb