It is narrated from Qasim bin Muhammad that two grandmothers: paternal
and maternal came to Abu Bakr. He awarded inheritance to the maternal and did
not give any share to paternal grandmother.
Abdur Rahman bin Suhail – Sahl – from Bani Harith tribe said: O Caliph of
Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), you awarded inheritance of someone, who if she
dies (and the deceased was alive) he would not inherit from her! So Abu Bakr
divided one-sixth among two grandmothers.1
Allamah Amini says: Are you not amazed at the ignorance of this man
about law of inheritance of grandmother and his haste in changing his view upon
criticism of a man from Ansar or tribe of Bani Haritha?
This criticism demands that the maternal grandmother should be deprived of
inheritance; but he made both of them share the inheritance! Ahle Sunnat jurists
have regarded it to be the source of their law, whereas the rule is derived from the
traditional report of Mughira, regarding a grandmother!
As for the viewpoint of the Ansari man regarding grandmother, who made
the Caliph turn away from his view, was not for the sake of following Quran and
Sunnah; on the contrary it opposed both of them and was according to statement
of a poet who says:
“Our sons are the sons of our sons, and the sons of our daughters are the sons of strangers.”
And Ahle Sunnat with attention to this verse:
يُوْصِيكُمُ اللهُ فِي أَوْلَادِكُمْ لِلذَّكَرِ مِثْلُ حَظِّ الْأُنْثَيَيْنِ
“Allah enjoins you concerning your children: The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females.”2
…have regarded it to be restricted to the sons of the sons and not sons of the
daughter and they have said that: Rules regarding the issues like share of
inheritance etc. will not include daughter’s children and its proof is the same
statement of the poet. Baghdadi has written in Khazanatul Adab:3
“Although this verse is often mentioned in books of grammar and other books, its composer is unknown.”
Glory be to You, O God! What made them dare to distort the religion of
God in order to exclude Ahle Bayt (a.s.) from inheritance of Messenger of
Allah (s.a.w.a.)? And take such a stance for political reasons?
Also, what is the value of the statement of a poet before the following statement of Almighty Allah:
فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَ ابْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَ كُمْ
“Come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your women.”4
This verse clearly says that Imam Hasan and Imam Husain (a.s.), are the two
sons of Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.).
Also, Allah, the Mighty and the High named the maternal grandsons of Nuh
(a.s.) as his progeny, as mentioned in Qamus:5 Progeny is in the meaning of son.
Almighty Allah says:
وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُۥٓ إِسْحَـٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ ۚ كُلًّا هَدَيْنَا ۚ وَنُوحًا هَدَيْنَا مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِهِۦ دَاوُۥدَ وَسُلَيْمَـٰنَ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُوسُفَ وَمُوسَىٰ وَهَـٰرُونَ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نَجْزِى ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ (٨٤) وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحْيَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَإِلْيَاسَ ۖ كُلٌّۭ مِّنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ ٨٥
“And We gave to him Ishaq and Yaqubi; each did We guide,
and Nuh did We guide before, and of his descendants, Dawood
and Sulaiman and Ayyub and Yusuf and Musa and Harun; and
thus do We reward those who do good (to others). And Zakariya
and Yahya and Isa and Ilyas; everyone was of the good;”6
In this verse, Almighty Allah has considered Isa (a.s.) to be in the progeny
of Nuh (a.s.), although he was the son of his daughter, Maryam.
In his Tafseer, Raazi says:7
“The verse of imprecation (Mubahila) proves that Hasan and Husain are two
sons of Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), because His Eminence (s.a.w.a.)
challenged them to bring their sons (for Mubahila) and he brought Hasan and
Husain; thus these two are his two sons. And one of the instances, which has
emphasized this meaning [that maternal grandson is regarded as ones son] is the
statement of Almighty Allah in Surah Anam:
وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ دَا وَدَ وَسُلَيْمَنَ
“And of his descendants, Dawood and Sulaiman…”8
…till Almighty Allah says:
ويحيى وَعِيسَى
“And Yahya and Isa…”9
…because it is known that Isa’s relation to Ibrahim is through the mother;
thus it is proved that sometimes the maternal grandson is called as son; and Allah
knows best.