The science of the prescribed shares is a noble and distinguished discipline. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged the Ummah to master it and convey it to others, as in the hadith of Ibn Masʿūd, traced back to him: “Learn the farāʾiḍ and teach them to the people.”

Here, the word farāʾiḍ may also be understood more broadly as referring to all legal obligations.

Scholars have authored a vast array of dedicated works on this subject, in both verse and prose, and have treated it in great detail. Yet to learn its rulings, it is enough to comprehend the three verses in Sūrah al-Nisāʾ together with the forthcoming hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās, for these blessed texts encompass its principal issues, with only a few uncommon cases falling outside their scope.

Once we have discussed the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās, we shall present several introductory points connected to this chapter, so that the benefit of this book may be complete.