when he was in Iraq. According to the narration which states: if the evidences conflict, the asset is divided among the claimants. For the claimant of the whole is half and half of the sixth that is in addition to the third and a third of the third; for the claimant of the half is half of the sixth and a third of the third; and for the claimant of the third is a third of it, which is the ninth. Thus, the issue is derived from thirty-six parts: for the claimant of the whole is the half, eighteen parts (33), half of the sixth is three, and the ninth is four, making twenty-five parts. For the owner of the half is seven, and for the claimant of the third is four, which is the ninth. This is the analogy of the opinion of Qatada, al-Harith al-'Ukli, Ibn Shubruma, Hammad, and Abu Hanifa. It is also an opinion of al-Shafi'i. Abu Thawr said: The claimant of the whole takes half, and the remainder is held in abeyance until it becomes clear. This is reported from Malik, and it is an opinion of al-Shafi'i. Ibn Abi Layla and a group from the people of Iraq said: The asset is divided among them according to the 'awl (increase of the denominator) of the shares; for the owner of the whole is six, for the owner of the half is three, and for the owner of the third is two parts, so it is valid from eleven parts. Sahl ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Abi Uways (34) was asked about three people who claimed a bag while it was in their hands, they had no evidence, and each of them took an oath regarding what he claimed; one of them claimed all of it, another claimed two-thirds of it, and another claimed half of it? He answered it (35) with poetry (36):

I looked, O Abu Ya'qub, at the calculations which fluttered, and stood among them, every sitter.

For the claimant of the two-thirds is a third, and for the one who claimed all the wealth during the contention

Is a half of the wealth, other than what will come to him, and his share of half this wealth is additional.

And for the claimant of half of the wealth is a quarter of it, and a half-sixth is taken from each one of them.

This is the opinion of the one who divided the wealth among them according to the 'awl, so it is as if the issue increased [from six] (37) to thirteen. This is because he took the denominators (38) of the fractions, which is six, and assigned it to the claimant of the whole, and two-thirds of it, four, to the claimant of the two-thirds, and half of it, three, to the claimant of the half, becoming thirteen.