And in another wording: "Begin with yourself, then with those whom you support." A sahih (authentic) hadith. Abu Hurayrah narrated that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have a dinar." He said: "Give it as charity to yourself." He said: "I have another." He said: "Give it as charity to your child." He said: "I have another." He said: "Give it as charity to your wife." He said: "I have another." He said: "Give it as charity to your servant." He said: "I have another." He said: "You are the most insightful." It was narrated by Abu Dawood. Furthermore, because it is an act of consolation (muwasah), it is not obligatory upon someone in need, just like Zakat. Third, the provider must be an heir, based on the statement of Allah the Exalted: "And upon the heir is the like of that" (2:233). Also, because there is a kinship between those who inherit from one another that dictates that the heir has a greater right to the estate of the deceased than other people, so he should be uniquely obligated to maintain them, whereas they are not. If one is not an heir due to the absence of kinship, maintenance is not obligatory for that reason. If inheritance is prevented despite the existence of kinship, it results in one of three cases: First, that one of them is a slave, in which case there is no maintenance for one upon the other, by consensus, because there is no legal guardianship (wilayah) or inheritance between them, so they resemble two strangers. Also, a slave has no wealth for which maintenance could be obligated, and his earnings belong to his master, and his own maintenance is upon his master, so he is independent of the maintenance of others. Second, that their religions are different, in which case there is no maintenance for one upon the other. The Qadi mentioned two narrations regarding the vertical line of lineage (amuday al-nasab);