Sunan Abi Dawud

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: When a man dies, his action discontinues from him except three things, namely, perpetual sadaqah (charity), or the knowledge by which benefit is acquired, or a pious child who prays for him.

A woman said: Messenger of Allah, my mother suddenly died; if it had not happened, she would have given sadaqah (charity) and donated (something). Will it suffice if I give sadaqah on her behalf? The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Yes, give sadaqah on her behalf.

A man said: Messenger of Allah, my mother has died ; will it benefit her if I give sadaqah on her behalf ? He said: Yes. He said: I have a garden, and I call you to witness that I have given it as sadaqah on her behalf.

On his father's authority, said that his grandfather told that Al-'As ibn Wa'il left his will that a hundred slaves should be emancipated on his behalf. His son Hisham emancipated fifty slaves and his son Amr intended to emancipate the remaining fifty on his behalf, but he said: I should ask first the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He, therefore, came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: Messenger of Allah, my father left in his will that a hundred slaves should be emancipated on his behalf and Hisham has emancipated fifty on his behalf and fifty remain. Shall I emancipate them on his behalf? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Had he been a Muslim and you had emancipated slaves on his behalf, or given sadaqah on his behalf, or performed the pilgrimage, that would have reached him.

That his father died and left a debt of thirty wasqs of a Jew on him. Jabir asked him to defer, but he refused. Jabir then spoke to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asking him to mediate to him on his behalf. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to the Jew and spoke to him about taking fruit-dates in lieu of the debt that was on him. But he refused. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked him to defer (the debt) to him, but he refused. He then narrated the rest of the tradition.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Knowledge has three categories; anything else is extra; a precise verse, or an established sunnah (practice), or a firm obligatory duty.

I fell ill, and the Prophet (ﷺ) and Abu Bakr came to me on foot to visit me. As I was unconscious, I could not speak to him. He performed ablution and sprinkled water on me ; so I became conscious. I said: Messenger of Allah, how should I do in my property, as I have sisters? Thereafter the verse about inheritance was revealed: "They ask thee for legal decision. Say: Allah directs (thus) about those who leave no descendants or ascendants as heirs."

I fell ill, and I had seven sisters. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to me and blew on my face. So I became conscious. I said: Messenger of Allah, may I not bequeath one-third of my property to my sisters? He replied: Do good. I asked: Half? He replied: Do good. He then went out and left me, and said: I do not think, Jabir, you will die of this disease. Allah has revealed (verses) and described the share of your sisters. He appointed two-thirds for them. Jabir used to say: This verse was revealed about me: "They ask thee for a legal decision. Say: Allah directs (thus) about those who leave no descendants or ascendants as heirs.

The last verse revealed about the decease who left no descendants or ascendants: "They ask thee for the legal decision. Say: Allah directs (thus) about those who leave no descendants or ascendants as heirs."

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: Messenger of Allah, they ask thee for a legal decision about a kalalah. What is meant by kalalah? He replied: The verse revealed in summer is sufficient for you. I asked AbuIshaq: Does it mean a person who dies and leaves neither children nor father? He said: This is so. The people think it is so.

A man came to Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and Salman b. Rabi'ah, and asked about a case where there were a daughter, a son's daughter and full sister. They replied: The daughter gets half and the full gets half. The son's daughter gets nothing. Go to Ibn Mas'ud and you will find that he agrees with me. So the man came to him and informed him about their opinion. He said: I would then be in error and not be one of those who are rightly guided. But I decide concerning the matter as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did: The daughter gets half, and the son's daughter gets a share which complete thirds (i.e. gets a sixth), and what remain to the full sister."

We went out with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and came to a woman of the Ansar in al-Aswaf. The woman brought her two daughters, and said: Messenger of Allah, these are the daughters of Thabit ibn Qays who was killed as a martyr when he was with you at the battle of Uhud, their paternal uncle has taken all their property and inheritance, and he has not left anything for them. What do you think, Messenger of Allah? They cannot be married unless they have some property. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah will decide regarding the matter. Then the verse of Surat an-Nisa was revealed: "Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children's (inheritance)." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Call to me the woman and her husband's brother. He then said to their paternal uncle: Give them two-thirds and their mother an eighth, and what remains is yours. Abu Dawud said: The narrator Bishr made a mistake. They were the daughters of Sa'd b. al-Rabi' for Thabit b. Qais was killed in the battle of Yamamah.

The wife of Sa'd b. al-Rabi said: Messenger of Allah, Sa'd died and left two daughters. He then narrated the rest of the tradition in a similar way. Abu Dawud said: This is the most correct tradition.

Mu'adh b. Jabal gave shares of inheritance to a sister and a daughter. He gave each of them half. He was at Yemen while the Prophet (ﷺ) was alive.

A grandmother came to AbuBakr asking him for her share of inheritance. He said: There is nothing prescribed for you in Allah's Book, nor do I know anything for you in the Sunnah of the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) Go home till I question the people. He then questioned the people, and al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said: I had been present with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he gave grandmother a sixth. AbuBakr said: Is there anyone with you? Muhammad ibn Maslamah stood and said the same as al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah had said. So AbuBakr made it apply to her. Another grandmother came to Umar ibn al-Khattab asking him for her share of inheritance. He said: Nothing has been prescribed for you in Allah's Book. The decision made before you was made for a grandmother other than you. I am not going to add in the shares of inheritance; but it is that sixth. If there are two of you, it is shared between you, but whichever of you is the only one left gets it all.

The Prophet (ﷺ) appointed a sixth to a grandmother if no mother is left to inherit before her.

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: My son has died; what do I receive from his estate? He replied: You receive a sixth. When he turned away he called him and said: You receive another sixth. When he turned away, he called him and said: The other sixth is an allowance (beyond what is due). Qatadah said: They (the Companions) did not know the heirs with whom he was given (a sixth). Qatadah said: The minimum share given to the grandfather was a sixth.

Which of your knows what share the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had given to the grandfather from the estate? Ma'qil ibn Yasar said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave him a sixth. He asked: Along with whom? He replied: I do not know. He said: You do not know; what is the use then?

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Divide the property among those whose share have been prescribed in the Book of Allah, and what remains from the prescribed shares goes to the nearest male heirs.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone leaves a debt or a helpless family I shall be responsible-and sometimes the narrator said: Allah and His Apostle will be responsible-but if anyone leaves property, it goes to his heirs. I am the heirs of him who has none, paying blood-wit for him and inheriting from him; and a maternal uncle is the heir of him who has none, paying blood-wit for him and inheriting from him.