And he provided the reason for his gift to them as being that "they did not separate from the Banu Hashim, neither in the Pre-Islamic period nor in Islam" (5). He did not give anything to the relatives of his mother, who are the Banu Zuhra, nor did he give anything to anyone among them except a Muslim. Thus, the absolute speech of the testator is interpreted in accordance with how the absolute speech of Allah the Almighty is interpreted and is explained by that which it was explained by. The near and the far among them, as well as the male and the female, are treated equally, because the bequest to them is equal, and it includes the adult and the child, the rich and the poor, but it does not include the disbelievers; because they were not included among those entitled to the kinship of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Abdullah and Salih narrated from their father another report, that it is distributed to the relatives of his mother if he was maintaining ties with them during his lifetime, such as his maternal uncles, his maternal aunts, and his siblings (7) through his mother, and if he was not maintaining ties with them, they are given nothing; because his gifting to them during his lifetime is an indication of his maintaining ties with them after his death, otherwise not. There is another report from him that it does not exceed four ancestors. Ibn Abi Musa mentioned it in "Al-Irshad". This report indicates that its wording is not restricted by the restriction we mentioned; thus, according to this, it is given to everyone known as his relative from his father's or mother's side, who are attributed to the nearest ancestor to whom he is attributed. This is the school of al-Shafi'i; because they are relatives, so the name encompasses them, and they enter into its general meaning. The Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) giving to some of his relatives is a specification that does not prevent [the application of the general meaning] (8) in other than that location. Abu Hanifah said: His relatives are every kin within the prohibited degrees of marriage (dhu rahim mahram), so two or more are given from the nearest of them; so if he has two paternal uncles and two maternal uncles, the bequest is for his two paternal uncles, and if he has one paternal uncle and two maternal uncles, his paternal uncle receives half and his two maternal uncles receive half. Qatadah said: The paternal uncles receive two-thirds, and the maternal uncles receive one-third. Al-Hasan said the same, and he said: The closer one is given some increase. Malik said: It is divided based on the closest, then the next closest, through Ijtihad. Our argument is that this term has
(5) Its source is mentioned previously in: 4/111. (6) In the original: "from him". (7) In (A) and (M): "and his sisters". (8) In (M): "the general meaning". (9) In (A) and (M): "He said".