before becoming entitled, his son becomes entitled. The same applies to every order of priority in child custody, guardianship over marriage and property, inheritance through agnatic kinship or the bond of manumission, and all other matters in which those entitled are arranged in successive ranks and degrees: the principle is as explained above.

This is what founders of endowments intend when asked about their meaning. Those who state their intention explicitly explain that the grandchild is to receive what the founder’s child would have received had he been alive. This is especially so because people feel compassion for someone whose father has died and who has inherited nothing; a grandfather may even make a bequest to his grandchild. It is well known that this grandchild and the other son’s child stand in the same relationship to the grandfather. How, then, could he deprive his orphaned grandchild while giving to his grandchild who is not an orphan? No reasonable person would intend this.

If we do not hold that they share, the endowment remains confined to this son and his offspring, excluding the descendants of the son who died during his father’s lifetime. And Allah knows best.