Points derived from the ḥadīth:
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Zayd ibn Thābit ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk al-Anṣārī al-Khazrajī, of the clan of al-Najjār, was eleven years old when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Madinah. The first campaign he is most likely to have witnessed was the Battle of the Trench. He died in 45 AH. Zayd was one of the Prophet’s scribes of revelation, a memoriser of the Qur’an, and a vast repository of knowledge.
During the expedition to Tabūk the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) handed him the banner of Banū al-Najjār, saying that Zayd had taken the Qur’an in greater measure than anyone else. ʿUmar appointed him governor of Madinah on three occasions, and ʿUthmān did the same. A large number of Companions and Successors narrated from him.
He was the one who compiled the muṣḥaf during the caliphate of Abū Bakr and again during the caliphate of ʿUthmān (may Allah be pleased with them). When Zayd passed away, Abū Hurayrah said, “The scholar of this community has died; may Allah provide in Ibn ʿAbbās a replacement for him.” Ibn ʿUmar remarked, “Today the scholar of Madinah has died.”
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In the Musnad, al-Tirmidhī, and Ibn Mājah it is related that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “And the most proficient of them in the laws of inheritance is Zayd ibn Thābit.” Because of this prophetic testimony and Zayd’s distinguished expertise, Imām al-Shāfiʿī inclined toward his positions and preferred them—after scrutiny, ijtihād, and careful consideration—whenever they proved correct.
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The ḥadīth under discussion is actually part of a longer report transmitted by al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, and Ibn Mājah in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The most compassionate of my community is Abū Bakr; the firmest in Allah’s religion is ʿUmar; the most truthful in modesty is ʿUthmān; the best reciter of the Book of Allah is Ubayy ibn Kaʿb; the most knowledgeable in what is lawful and unlawful is Muʿādh ibn Jabal; the most proficient in the laws of inheritance is Zayd ibn Thābit; and the trustworthy custodian of this community is Abū ʿUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah.”
The author has cited from it only the clause relevant to this chapter—“The most proficient among you in the laws of inheritance is Zayd”—because it is a prophetic attestation that Zayd ibn Thābit was the most learned of those addressed in the science of inheritance, so his opinion is to be taken and people are to refer