does not inherit, because his father does not inherit. Paternal uncles related through the mother do not inherit at all, and their sons are even less entitled to inherit. If there is a son of a consanguine brother’s son and a son of a maternal brother, the former is given precedence, because the latter does not inherit: only maternal siblings inherit, whereas their children do not.

These are the agnatic heirs. Once you know these principles, applying them will be easy. Al-Jaʿbarī says:

Precedence is by category, then by nearness;
After these two, give precedence by strength.

They are all those who, if alone, would take the estate through a single basis; and when there is a fixed-share heir, they take what remains. The nearest among them is a son, then his son, however far removed; then the father, then the grandfather, however high, provided that there is no full brother or consanguine brother, ...

His statement, “They are all those who, if alone, would take the estate through a single basis; and when there is a fixed-share heir, they take what remains,” defines the agnatic heir by its legal ruling. Many scholars employ definition by legal ruling, though the logicians regard it as defective.

In their view, among the rejected forms
Is the inclusion of rulings within definitions.

What the logicians maintain is clearer, for how can one pass judgment on something one does not know? One must first know the thing, and then judge it. Nevertheless, as a matter of latitude, the jurists, may Allah have mercy on them, use legal rulings in definitions.

As for defining it descriptively, it may be said: everyone who inherits without a specified share.

Its ruling is that, if he is alone, he takes the entire estate; if there is a fixed-share heir, he takes what remains; and if the fixed shares exhaust the estate, he is excluded.

His statement, “through a single basis,” was included as a precaution against the case in which he takes