817 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Assign the farāʾiḍ (prescribed shares) to those who are entitled to them; whatever remains goes to the nearest male agnate.” Agreed upon. (1)

Vocabulary of the ḥadīth
• alḥiqū: “attach” or “deliver.”
• to their entitled beneficiaries: i.e., give the heirs who hold fixed shares their allotted portions.
• awlā: what is meant by awlā is “the closest and nearest”; the wāw here is quiescent.
• “a man, a male”: Fath al-Bārī notes that all the narrations contain both words, and some found the phrase “male” after “man” puzzling. Al-Baqarī, in his marginalia on al-Raḥabiyyah, explains that “male” was added after “man” to clarify that the intended heir is a male, for the word rajul (“man”) in its original sense denotes an adult male human, which is not what is meant here. Hence “male” is more general than the word that precedes it; it describes the man as being male, drawing attention to the reason for his entitlement—namely, maleness, which is the basis of agnatic succession.

Points derived from the ḥadīth
1 – This comprehensive ḥadīth encompasses the vast majority of inheritance rulings. Allah, exalted is He, has detailed them with complete clarity, granting every rightful person his due.
2 – Allah commands that the prescribed shares be delivered to their recipients first; they take precedence over the ʿaṣabah (residuary heirs). Whatever remains after that passes to the nearest male agnate, namely: the agnates from the descendants mentioned, the male ascendants, the male descendants of ascendants, and those entitled through walāʾ (bond of emancipation).