interpretations; for interpreting it to mean something like the case in dispute is prohibited, and the least degree of its status is dislike (karahah). The apparent state of Abu Bakr is that he avoided disliked matters. As for the Prophet's statement - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him -: "Have someone other than me witness this," it is not a command; for the lowest level of an imperative is recommendation and desirability, and there is no disagreement regarding the dislike of this. How could it be permissible for him to order him to confirm it, while he ordered him to revoke it and termed it an injustice? To interpret the hadith in this way is to interpret the hadith of the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - as contradictory and conflicting. If the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - had ordered him to have someone else witness it, Bashir would have followed his command and would not have revoked it. Rather, this was a threat directed at him, and thus it conveys the same meaning as the prohibition of completing it. And Allah knows best.

Section: If he singles out some of them for a reason that necessitates his singling them out, such as their specific need, infirmity, blindness, large family, engagement in knowledge, or other virtues, or if he diverts his gift from some of his children due to their immorality, innovation, or because they use what they take to commit an act of disobedience to Allah or spend it on that, then it has been narrated from Ahmad what indicates the permissibility of that. This is due to his statement regarding singling out some of them with an endowment (waqf): "There is no harm in it if it is [for a need, and I dislike it if it is] done out of selfishness." A gift is similar to this in meaning. It is possible that the apparent wording of his statement implies the prohibition of favoring or singling out in any case, because the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - did not ask Bashir for details regarding his gift. The first view is more appropriate, if Allah wills, due to the hadith of Abu Bakr, and because some of them possess a characteristic that necessitates the gift, so it is permissible for them to be singled out with it, just as if one were singled out due to kinship. The hadith of Bashir is a case concerning a specific instance that has no general application, and the Prophet's - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - omitting to ask for details can be attributed to his knowledge of the situation. If it is said: If he knew the situation, why would he say: "Do you have any other children besides him?" We say: It is possible that the question here is to clarify the cause, just as he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to the one who asked him about selling fresh dates for dried ones: "Do the fresh dates decrease when they dry?" He said: Yes. He said: "Then no."