it is held in abeyance between the five women, and the remainder belongs to the brother. If he married one woman in one contract, two in another contract, and three in another contract, and the predecessor is not known, the marriage of the one is valid, so she is entitled to her dowry, and uncertainty remains regarding the five. According to the opinion of the people of Iraq, they are entitled to two dowries with certainty, and the third they are entitled to in one circumstance but not another, so they are entitled to half of it. Then that is divided among them, with each one receiving half a dowry. Then a quarter of the remainder is taken for them as an inheritance; the one receives a quarter of it with certainty, and she claims half of its sixth, so she is given half of it, and she thus receives a sixth and an eighth of the quarter, which is seven out of twenty-four. The two claim two-thirds of it, which is sixteen shares, so they are given half of it, which is eight shares. The three claim three-quarters of it, which is eighteen shares, so they are given a ninth of it. This is the opinion of Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. According to the opinion of Abu Hanifah and Abu Yusuf, the seventeen are divided between the three and the two in halves, so the quarter becomes from forty-eight shares; then multiply the two by the three, then by the forty-eight, resulting in two hundred and eighty-eight; this is a quarter of the wealth. According to al-Shafi'i, the one is given her dowry, and three dowries are held in abeyance: two of them between the five, and one [dowry] which the one and the two claim as an inheritance, and which the three claim as a dowry; and three-quarters of it [the one dowry] is claimed by the others as an inheritance and by the three as a dowry. A quarter of what remains is taken; its quarter is given to the one, half of its sixth is held in abeyance between the one and the three, and two-thirds of it is held in abeyance between the three and the two. If one of the five asks for something from the held inheritance, nothing is given to her, and likewise if one of the two groups asks for it, nothing is given to them. If one from the three and one from the two ask for it, a quarter of the inheritance is given to them. If one from the two and two from the three, or all three, ask for it, a third of it is given to them. If the husband designated the married women first, his designation is accepted and established. If he had sexual intercourse with one of them, that does not constitute a designation for her. This is the opinion of al-Shafi'i (may God be pleased with him). The one who was had intercourse with is entitled to the lesser of the specified amount or the equivalent dowry (mahr al-mithl), and the surplus between the two is held in abeyance. According to the opinion of the people of Iraq, it constitutes a designation; if the one had intercourse with is one of the two, her marriage is valid, and the marriage of the three is nullified. If she is from the three, the marriage of the two is nullified. If he had intercourse with one of the two and one of the three, the marriage of the group that began with the intercourse of one of them is valid, and the one had intercourse with whose marriage is not valid is entitled to her equivalent dowry, if