In short, whatever a person needs for himself, he is not required to sell.

His statement, “or the tools of his trade”: for example, a craftsman who has a machine with which he works—whether in carpentry, blacksmithing, or the like—and his relative says to him, “Sell it and spend on me.” Must he sell it? No, because that would harm him. The evidence for all of this is the Prophet’s saying, “There should be neither harm nor reciprocal harm” (1), and his saying, “Begin with yourself” (2). Such tools are among his own necessities.

His statement, “Whoever has heirs other than a father, his maintenance is to be borne by them in proportion to their shares of inheritance”: this applies only to relatives other than ascendants and descendants, since inheritance is not a condition in the case of ascendants and descendants. Thus, if there is a father, grandfather, son, or son’s son who is financially able, he must support his ascendant or descendant in all cases. But whoever has heirs other than a father, their maintenance of him is according to their respective shares of inheritance, because Allah, Exalted is He, has linked the obligation of maintenance to inheritance, and a ruling revolves with its effective cause. Thus, each is required to provide maintenance in accordance with his share of inheritance.

His statement, “The mother is responsible for one-third, and the grandfather for two-thirds”: an example is a poor man who has a wealthy mother and a wealthy grandfather. In this case, the mother is responsible for one-third and the grandfather for the remainder, namely two-thirds. For if a deceased person left behind his mother and his paternal grandfather, they would inherit in this same manner. How are they to provide maintenance? We say: either she provides for him one day and the grandfather for two days, or they contribute together indefinitely, with her paying