Then to the children of his sons, excluding the children of his daughters, just as if he were to say, “to the children of his children.” Likewise, his offspring are those descended from his own loins. If he says, “to my sons” or “to the sons of so-and-so,” it is restricted to their males, ………

His statement, “Then to the children of his sons”: The author said, “then.” Thus, if he were to say, “I have endowed it to my children,” the children are entitled to it generation after generation. However, the author says, “then to the children of his sons,” which indicates an order of succession, even though the wording is general and contains neither an explicit order nor inclusion of all generations. We say: the basic principle is succession, and the well-known rule is that whoever is entitled by virtue of a particular attribute is preceded by the one in whom that attribute is stronger. It is known that, with respect to children, direct parentage is a stronger attribute in one’s own children than in the children of one’s sons. Accordingly, we say: if he says, “An endowment for my children,” it belongs to his children; then, once all the children have died out, it belongs to the children of his sons.

If he endows it to his children, who are three, and one of them then dies leaving sons, they are not entitled to it alongside their paternal uncles, because this is a succession from one generation to the next.

But if he says, “Whoever dies leaving a child, his share belongs to his child,” then the children of the deceased child are entitled to it and take the place of their father. The deceased person’s children are treated in the same manner as direct children: it is for the children of the deceased son, males and females alike, in equal shares.

His statement, “excluding his daughters,” means: excluding the children of his daughters. The children of daughters do not fall under the term “children.” Thus, if he says, “This is an endowment for my children,” and he has three sons and one daughter, and these four—the sons and the daughter—die leaving children, the children of the sons are entitled to it, whereas the children of the daughter have no right to it. The proof of this is in the Noble Quran. Allah Most High says: “Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.” [al-Nisa 4:11] The scholars are unanimously agreed that the children of daughters do not fall under the term “children,” because they are among the more distant kindred and are not considered his children. The same applies when he says, “An endowment for my children,”