provided that this fact has not been forgotten—the one who died later inherits from the one who died earlier by unanimous consensus, for the heir’s life after the decedent’s death is certain.

Third scenario: it is known that some of them died after others, but without specifying who died first and who died later.

Fourth scenario: it is known that certain individuals died after others in particular, but the exact order has been forgotten.

Fifth scenario: the circumstances of their deaths are unknown; it is unclear whether they all perished simultaneously or at different times.

In these last three cases there is scope for different possibilities and for legal reasoning. The scholars—may Allah have mercy on them—have split into two views:

First view: there is no inheritance in any of the three situations. This is the position of a group of the Companions, among them Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, Zayd ibn Thābit, and Ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with them. It is also the view of the three imams—Abu Ḥanīfah, Mālik, and al-Shāfiʿī—and one reported view within the Ḥanbalī school. Their rationale is that a confirmed condition for inheritance is the heir’s proven survival after the decedent’s death; here that condition is doubtful, and inheritance cannot be established in the presence of doubt. They also point out that those who died in the Battle of Yamāmah, the Battle of Ṣiffīn, and the incident of al-Ḥarrah were not made to inherit from one another.

Second view: each of them inherits from the other. This is the position of another group of Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—among them ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with them both—and it is the apparent position within the Ḥanbalī school. The rationale for this opinion is that the life