affiliated by agreement may transfer his allegiance to whomever he wishes, with the consent of the person to whom he transfers it. Thus, in his view, transferring patronage is subject to four conditions: the consent of the client himself, the consent of the person whose patronage he leaves, the consent of the person whose patronage he enters, and, fourth, that the patronage he leaves arose through an agreement rather than manumission. Patronage arising through manumission cannot be transferred, “because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade selling patronage or giving it away.” He said that the Prophet’s statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “Patronage belongs only to the one who manumits,” contains nothing to warrant the existence of patronage other than that arising through manumission, since the hadith concerns patronage arising through manumission, not patronage arising through other means. It therefore only denies that the patronage of a manumitted person can belong to anyone other than the person who manumitted him. We have discussed the expression innamā (“only”) and its implications in the Book on Leasing Land. Success comes through Allah alone.

As for the bond established through emigration, people inherited from one another on that basis in the early days of Islam. There is no disagreement among the scholars concerning this. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:

“Indeed, those who believed, emigrated, and strove with their wealth and their lives in the cause of Allah, and those who gave shelter and aid—they are allies of one another. As for those who believed but did not emigrate, you have no bond of alliance with them until they emigrate. But if they seek your help in religion, you must help them, except against a people with whom you have a treaty. Allah sees all that you do.” [Al-Anfāl: 72]

The Emigrants and the Helpers therefore inherited from one another by virtue of emigration and the brotherhood that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, established between them, rather than through blood relationship. This continued until Allah revealed:

“But blood relatives have a stronger claim upon one another in the Book of Allah.” [Al-Anfāl: 75]

According to the Quranic commentators, “in the Book of Allah” means in the verse concerning inheritance. Thus, the blood relatives intended in this verse are those whom Allah named in the inheritance verse, or those included within its meaning even though not expressly named.