1018 - Issue: He [al-Khiraqi] said: (The grandmothers who are on the same level, such as a mother's mother's mother, a mother's mother's father, and a mother's father's mother, even if they are numerous, the rule is the same regarding them).

He means by those on the same level those who are equal in degree, such that one is not higher or lower than another. This is because grandmothers only inherit if they are all on the same degree. Whenever some of them are closer than others, the inheritance goes to the closest among them. Thus, if it is said that he left two inheriting grandmothers at the closest level, they are his mother's mother and his father's mother. If it is said that he left three, then they are as al-Khiraqi stated: a mother's mother's mother, a mother's mother's father, and a mother's father's mother. [This includes] one from the maternal side and two from the paternal side, which are his mother's mother and his father's mother, as the hadith states. On their level, there is another [grandmother] from the maternal side who does not inherit, which is the mother of the mother's father. Indeed, no one ever inherits from the maternal side except for one, which is the one whose entire lineage consists of mothers with no father among them. So memorize this. If it is said that he left four, they are the mother's mother's mother's mother, the mother's mother's mother's father, the mother's mother's father's father, and the mother's father's father's father. On their level, there are four who do not inherit, whom we have already mentioned previously, except that the school of Ahmad does not allow more than three grandmothers to inherit, and they are the first three. It is possible that al-Khiraqi’s statement allows for their inheritance even if they are numerous; according to this position, as the degree increases, the number of grandmothers increases, so five inherit in the fifth degree, six in the sixth, and seven in the seventh, and so on forever. Al-Khiraqi’s statement: "Even if they are numerous, the rule is the same," could mean that he held the view of making them inherit in this manner even if they are numerous. It could also mean that he intended that even if they are numerous, only those three inherit. According to this [latter] view, no more than three inherit: one from the maternal side and two from the paternal side, which are his mother's mother, his father's mother, and their mothers. No grandmother inherits if there is a father in her lineage between two mothers, nor if there are three fathers. If you wish to calculate the inheriting grandmothers and the non-inheriting ones, know that the deceased has two grandmothers in the first degree: his mother's mother and his father's mother. In the second degree, there are four; because each of his parents has two grandmothers, so they are four in relation to him. In the third degree, there are eight; because each of his parents has four in this manner, so for their offspring, there are eight. According to this, as they rise by a degree, their number doubles, but only three of them inherit. And Allah knows best.