ابن رئاب

“About the case of a man who dies and leaves behind his wife, sister and his grandfather, abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said, ‘It is distributed from four parts. The woman receives one-fourth, the sister receives one share and the grandfather receives two shares.’”

“About the case of a man who dies and leaves behind his wife, sister and grandfather, abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said, ‘This is distributed from four parts, one-fourth for the woman, one share for the sister and two shares for the grandfather.’”

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said, The child involved in Mula‘anah (condemnation) of parents is inherited by his mother with a share of one-third and the rest of the legacy belongs to the Imam of the Muslims; the liability for his crime becomes a burden on the Imam.”’

“I once asked abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who commits the indecent act with a Christian woman; and she gives birth to a boy and he claims him to be his child; then he dies leaving behind no other heirs except that boy; if he can inherit him. He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, he can inherit him.’”

“About the case of a man who dies and leaves behind his daughter and his sister from his father and mother, he (the Imam) said, ‘The legacy belongs to his daughter and there is nothing for the sister from his father and mother.’”

“About the case of a man who kills his mother, abu Ja‘far (a.s.), has said, ‘He cannot inherit from her. Instead he is executed against his wishes and I do not think that his execution can remedy his sin.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about Sa’ibah (unconditionally freed slave). He (the Imam) said, ‘You must consider what is in the Quran, “setting free a slave” O ‘Ammar, he is Sa’ibah (unconditionally freed slave) over whom there is no guardianship of anyone except Allah. Guardianship over whoever rests with Allah, such guardianship rests with His Messenger; and guardianship over whoever rests with the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, such guardianship rests with the Imam. His liabilities due to his crimes are on the Imam and his legacy is for the Imam.’”

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said that Ali (a.s.), once issued a judgment. It was in the case of those who became Muslims and the legacy of pagans, which was not distributed before his becoming a Muslim. It gave men and women their shares according to the book of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, and the Sunnah of His Holy Prophet, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about the case of a woman who takes medicine when pregnant without informing her husband, and miscarries her child. He (the narrator) has said that he (the Imam) said, ‘If the child had grown bones and flesh then the wergild is due on her which she must pay to the father; but if the miscarriage takes place when the fetus has just formed or is an embryo she owes forty dinars or a slave to the father.’ I then asked, ‘Is it the case that she cannot inherit with the father?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘She cannot inherit because she has killed the child, so she cannot inherit.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about the case of a Muslim man who has died and his mother is a Christian. He has a wife and Muslim children. He (the Imam) said, ‘If his mother becomes a Muslim before the legacy is distributed, she receives one-sixth.’ I then asked, ‘What happens if he does not have a wife and children or an heir with ordained shares in the book and his mother is a Christian and has other Christian relatives of those who have ordained shares in the book had they been Muslims. Who receives his legacy?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘If his mother becomes a Muslim, all of his legacy belongs to her; but if she did not become a Muslim instead certain others from his relatives become Muslims of those who have ordained shares according to the book, his legacy belongs to him. If no one from his relatives becomes a Muslim then his legacy belongs to the Imam.’”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about the case of a man with whom I have a relation of kinship, he dies leaving behind small children, slaves and slave-girls but has not made any will. ‘What do you say about buying a slave-girl for a mother of one’s child and what do you say about selling them?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘If they have a guardian who supervises for them the sale and looks after them, he will receive good rewards.’ I asked, ‘What do you say about one’s buying from them a slave- girl for a mother of one’s child?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not harmful if it is executed by their guardian who looks after their interests and well-being; and they cannot change their mind about what the guardian has done for them who looks after their well-being.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about the case of a man who has married four women in one marriage contract or that he said in one session with different amounts of mahr (dower) for each one. He (the Imam) said, ’It is permissible for them.’ I then asked, ‘What happens if he travels to a different town and divorces one of the four in the presence of witnesses from the people of that town who do not know the woman. He then marries a woman from that town after completion of ‘Iddah (waiting period) of the woman he has divorced. Then he dies after going to bed with the woman whom he has married last; how his legacy is distributed? He (the Imam) said, ‘If he has children the share of the woman whom he has married last is one-fourth of one-eighth. If the woman divorced is identified in person and lineage, she will not receive any share and she must complete ‘Iddah (waiting period).’ He (the Imam) said, ‘The other three women must distribute the remaining three-forths of one-eighth and they must complete their ‘Iddah (waiting period). If the divorced woman cannot be identified, the four women distribute the three-forths of one-eighth among themselves and they all must complete their ‘Iddah (waiting period).”’

“This is concerning my question before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of a man who dies owing a certain amount of debts and leaves behind a slave who has his assets in business and a son. In the hand of the slave he leaves the assets, goods and debts owed by the slave which he had incurred during the lifetime of his master for business. The heir and creditors dispute about what is in the hand of the slave, the slave himself and the assets and goods. He (the Imam) said, ‘In my view the heirs have no say about the slave or about what is in his hand of assets and goods, except if they take responsibility for the debt for all the creditors. Thereafter the slave and what is in his hand of the assets and goods all go in the hands of the heirs; but if they refuse to take responsibility, the slave and all that is in his hand go to the creditors. The slave and whatever is in his hand of the assets are distributed among the creditors proportionate to their shares. If the slave and the asset could not pay the debts the creditors can ask the heirs for the remaining liabilities if the deceased has left anything. If the slave and assets exceed the debts the remaining goes to the heirs.’”