Hadith.5602 - Al-Fadl ibn Shadhan narrated from Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ali ibn Abdullah, from Yaqub ibn Ibrahim ibn Sad, from his father, who said: My father narrated to me from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, who said: Al-Zuhri narrated from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utbah, who said:
I sat with Ibn Abbas, and the topic of inheritance shares was brought up.
Ibn Abbas said: "Glory be to Allah سبحانه وتعالى the Almighty! Do you think that the One who has counted the grains of the sand of Alij (a vast desert) made the shares of inheritance such that they consist of a half, a half, and a third? These two halves already consume the entire estate, so where is the share for the third?"
Zufar ibn Aws Al-Basri said to him: "O' Ibn Abbas, who was the first to adjust the shares of inheritance (awl, proportional reduction)?"
Ibn Abbas replied: "It was Ruma when the inheritance shares became entangled with each other and some shares began to clash with others."
Ibn Abbas said: "By Allah سبحانه وتعالى, I do not know whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given precedence to and whom He سبحانه وتعالى has delayed. I find nothing more appropriate than dividing this wealth according to the prescribed shares, so that each person entitled receives their due, and the effect of the adjustment (awl) of the inheritance falls upon them accordingly. By Allah سبحانه وتعالى, if those whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given precedence were given precedence, and those whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى has delayed were delayed, no inheritance share would ever be reduced."
Zufar ibn Aws asked him: "Who are those whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given precedence and those whom He has delayed?"
Ibn Abbas replied: "Every share that Allah سبحانه وتعالى, the Mighty and Majestic, has not reduced except to another obligatory share is what Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given precedence. As for what Allah سبحانه وتعالى has delayed, it is any share that, when displaced from its original allocation, receives only what remains. These are those whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى has delayed.
For example, the husband is entitled to half, but if there are additional heirs that reduce his share, it decreases to one-fourth, and nothing can further reduce it. The wife is entitled to one-fourth, and if her share is reduced, it becomes one-eighth, with nothing further reducing it. The mother is entitled to one-third, but if her share is reduced, it becomes one-sixth, which cannot be further reduced. These are the shares that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given precedence.
As for those whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى has delayed, they include the shares of daughters and sisters. A single daughter or sister receives half, and if they are two or more, they receive two-thirds. However, if other heirs with higher precedence exist, they only receive what remains, and that is what Allah سبحانه وتعالى has delayed.
Thus, when the shares given precedence and those delayed are combined, the shares that Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given precedence are distributed first in full. If anything remains, it is given to those whom Allah سبحانه وتعالى has delayed, but if nothing remains, they receive nothing."
Zufar ibn Aws asked him: "What prevented you from suggesting this opinion to Ruma?"
Ibn Abbas replied: "I was in awe of him."
Al-Zuhri then said: "By Allah سبحانه وتعالى, if it were not for the fact that a just and pious leader had preceded him and established his ruling with prudence, Ibn Abbas would not have had any disagreement from the scholars on this matter."